There are times when we feel like we could do amazing things on the spur of the moment, like reversing the earth's rotation to save Lois Lane's life. But we're not sure even we would have the cojones to plunge a steak knife into our own throats in hopes of staying alive long enough for the paramedics to arrive.

That's what Steve Wilder did recently, after he awoke in the middle of the night unable to breathe. The 55-year-old throat cancer survivor says he thought he was dying when the air wouldn't go into his lungs, and he didn't think emergency services would come quickly enough. So he went to his kitchen, grabbed a knife and made a small hole in his throat, saving his own life.

"It just blocked all the way, and I just got up and I panicked!" said Wilder.

The Omaha man's breathing had stopped because of a pre-existing condition that caused his air passages to swell up, not allowing any air through. Once his throat heals, doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

Question raised: Have you ever made a life-altering split-second decision like that?


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