I talked a man out of murdering me while he was doing it, then rang myself an ambulance.

I guess the most obvious one; why???

We had an argument that was very heated. He had been drinking. Courts will decide what else was involved. My opinion is, his pride was hurt and he lost an internal battle between his self-interest and the satisfaction of hurting the imagined source of that hurt.

I was expecting to have a very strained house meeting the following day and was writing a detailed diary entry at the time of the assault.

He’s actually posting answers here: Casual IAMA

I’m here now, I’m just a reddit noob

What was the argument about?

I thought things were great, turns out he was harbouring resentments. He chose to lecture me about (his mistaken understanding of) my lifestyle while he was drunk at 1am. I wasn’t having it, not one freaking minute of it. I’ve lived in that house for about two and a half years and this guy was there three months and thought he had a right to spring it on us that he smokes pot. I’m fine with people doing what they want (though it is illegal here) but not in my house, you are upfront about that stuff, there’s people for you. I’m not proud that I let him get me so furious, but I think the police are satisfied with my recounting of the night’s events, I was very detailed, didn’t embellish, didn’t make myself out to be a hero. Accuracy is really important to justice.

It wound down and I’d basically told him to start looking for somewhere else to live. I got ready for bed, lay down and wrote a diary entry about the night’s events while my cat slept next to me. He also showered etc, went to his room, then made a terrible decision.

Will this teach you to wash your god damn dishes after you use them?

I do all the housework apart from other people’s dishes. Quite happy doing that.

I wish you a speedy recovery!

What crossed your mind if anything else other than you didn't want to die?

The effect this would have on everyone I know if I did die. My social community suffered a terrible loss just 18 months or so ago, also a violent murder, so a second one would have been devastating.

Would you mind elaborating on what exactly made him stop and help you instead?

Hope you get 100% rehabilitated.

The courts will decide, I’m not going to speak for him.

How did he break your neck?

We struggled. I’m honestly not 100% sure. Doctors tell me I have fractures in my neck and need this brace for 6 weeks (4 to go now!)

Did you know him before or did you find him off the internet?

How long had you been flatmates?

Internet. Three months or so.

Glad you are alive. What did it feel like to actually be on the verge of and know that you are dying?

I was all business, had to be to survive. In the ambulance I was just yelling my medications, pre existing conditions, blood type, parents phone number, then allowed myself to collapse and start screaming until they tranqed me with (I’m told) ketamine. Lot of awful hallucinations after that, took an eternity to come out of it but it was just 2-3 hours.

Can you talk about the pain levels? What part hurt the most? Are there some injuries you didnt feel? What surprised you most?

Pain med to thank I guess. After the first four-five days of infinite pain (so much you kind of don’t care) the worst part has been my right hand, which had really painful slices across it. I have inexplicable nerve pain in the right arm too, the skin feels burnt and people keep patting my arm reassuringly! What surprised me was the speed I recovered, and that I survived in the first place!

    recently-acquired housemate 

How did you "acquire" this "housemate" ?

Online. He seemed a normal fellow and was genuinely not the worst person I’ve lived with by a mile before this happened. My cat liked him, and they rubbed faces in the kitchen, during our argument, not long before he attacked. I felt like telling him to get the hell away from my cat, but instead said “good girl!” as I always encourage her to be affectionate with people in the house. Pets lift the mood just by existing.

This is all still very recent for you. Without sounding like an idiot, has this situation really struck you yet? Or do you feel like you're still in that twilight period between an event, and the gravity of said event?

Have you started writing any material based on this encounter? If so, I'd assume it trends pretty dark. Do you think you'd actually use it in a set, or is it more of just therapeutic off-loading right now?

Finally, the fact that you were able to talk this roommate out of finishing the job... Do you believe they felt remorse for what they did to you, or did they stop out of fear of the repercussions? Would you pursue a relationship with them going forward? (Albeit a much changed dynamic, obviously)

Glad you are doing better!

Edit: why do I have an award? I have two upvotes...?

I was joking about this on the phone to my Dad at 6:30 am the first day. He wasn’t laughing because he’s a worry-wort. I did say “tis but a scratch!” so someone while I was covered head to toe in blood, because you have to.

As for your other great questions, I have no roadmap for this. I went through a life-changing event. Life will change.

I will leave it to courts to comment on the perp’s end of it as much as I can.

How did you stay calm enough to think it through? Pretty sure if someone was trying to murder me I wouldn't talk about the effects it will have on their life lol

I’ve been through hellish things that prepared me for this moment.

How do you cope and continue to deal with the trauma day by day?

I talk. I make it clear, with patience, to the medical staff and well-wishers what my needs are. Needles are a trial, the little blades they remove sutures with, the scissors they cut dressings off with. There’s work to be done here, clearly, but I cry when I want to. Without being a sook, I feel I’ve earned the right to say and feel what I need to when I need to.

Where there any signs of him being violent before the incident?

Prideful, yes. Admitted to having a substance abuse problem. We had a fairly open conversation about mental health one day. I thought he got the message that he simply can’t use drugs or alcohol, but I misunderstood his mind, clearly. The violence was a surprise.

Was your housemate reasonably clean? Like he cleans his own dishes

Yeah. He was a good housemate apart from the murdering.

Jesus Christ this'll be material for upcoming comedy...if you somehow see any comedy in this.

What does it feel like to be stabbed? Or were your feelings completely dulled from pure adrenalin?

It hurts later.

Comedians often have a dark sense of humor that allows them to process traumatic events more efficiently.

What was the funniest thing you found about this awful situation you've been put in?

Oh my god, someday I hope to get a copy of the emergency services call, as they record them. At one point he said “stop playing the victim all the time” and I called him a silly-billy. It was like Alan Partridge directed by David Cronenberg in that room I swear.

What's your attitude towards the would-be murderer now?

Sad for him. He made terrible choices all night, but at least his last choice was a good one.

Are you gonna press charges?

Cops do that without me. I gave a detailed statement already.

How were you able to stay calm enough to have such a logical conversation?

Death was the second option.

You mentioned group of comedy friends - did you try to break the tension with your attacker by using any jokes, and if so, what were they/ did they work?

Not during the attack, but after, a little. I was conscious that he could change his mind again, and the knife was RIGHT there the whole time.