as a child I was terrified by Whooping cough and almost dying from it at age 2:

Then I fell and hit my head rock climbing with my father and got a concussion. But, being the 1950s when no one I knew at all had health insurance (if they were under 65 years old) then, I was never treated or even taken to a doctor for my concussion or the resulting seizures at night from ages 10 to 15.

One night when I was around 14 years old (almost 15) my father after I had run for them to help me while I was asleep and felt a seizure coming on, I had run into the end of my bedroom door and broken my nose. I woke up after my seizure with my head in a pool of my own blood from my broken nose. 

I can remember the fear in my father's eyes. He had been just before this with a butter knife trying to pry open my mouth so I didn't bite or choke on my tongue.

And he said to me (remember this is likely 1963 or thereabouts and not now) "You better get some religion under your belt, son, or you are going to die!"

Today you might have many different reactions to this but at the time in the midst of my trauma I agreed with him and started to go to church with my parents 3 or 4 times a week when I hadn't gone at all before for years then, except for special occasions and when I sang in the church choir with my Dad and Mom.

The church choir got together after Youth Group which was Friday nights then downtown Los Angeles on Hope Street.

I'm trying to share with you my path to staying alive until now. Bringing God into my life saved my life simply because my father wasn't going to allow doctors into my life at that time.

However, I was never really a good fit for organized religion because I was too scientific in my thinking always. I was always very logical and reasonable and intelligent and I guess what is unusual about those who survive things like Whooping cough and concussion with seizures like I did is how pragmatic one has to be to survive these kinds of things in one's life.

There is NO margin for error regarding dying. So, only by being supremely pragmatic on all levels are you actually going to survive at all.