You touched on something that is worth highlighting on its own.
If you (plural - to the readers) ever encounter a life threatening situation, know this:
If you decide to live, if you are DETERMINED to live, no matter what your condition - you can actually make it through. This is contingent on having an unshakable belief that your choice WILL make a difference. It will not work if you try it in a "positive thinking" frame of mind, where you secretly expect that you will die, but you are thinking "positively" that you will not.
If you, on the other hand, choose to abandon the fight, if you feel your life ain't worth living, at that point you are effectively dead.
This choice matters.