Could you amputate your own arm?

[Valkyira]

So after watching 127 Hours and reading the actual experience of Aron Ralston, I began to wonder what I and other members of the Escapist would have done in that situation. Without sounding like a macho man, I like to think I would do it in order to survive. Of course it would fucking hurt.. But pain's better than death, right?

For those of you who don't know, Aron Ralston is a mountaineer who back in 2003, got in a bit of a pickle when he fell down a canyon and got his right arm trapped by a huge boulder. He stayed there for five days, trying to get himself free before he did the only thing he could have done... Amputated his own arm.

So my question for you fellow Escapees is, if you were trapped and the only way to survive was for you to amputate your own arm without anaesthetic, would you?

By the way, the movie is awesome and Aron's book called 'Between a Rock and a Hard Place' is even better at explaining the torture this guy went through.

He's a brave man, boss... A very brave man.

 

[LupusDei]

I would say ''No''. Thats the answer my heart is giving me, However until your put into that situation and your will to survive really kicks in, you don't really know. Men and women will do most anything to live.

 

[Stoic raptor]

Well, it depends. How do I amputate it. Do I just pull until it rips?

 

[Rasputin1]

Give me a shit-load of painkillers, a cash prize for doing it, and then maybe I'd consider it.

 

[Neonbob]

Heh. No. I am pretty much incapable of using a needle on myself for insulin shots unless it's in an auto-injector, so there is no way I'd be able to cut my arm off. I might get a single stroke started before the "Oh jesus no no no no no" reflex kicked in and I threw the knife away, leaving me to die a horribly slow and annoying death.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Maybe if I had a razor sharp axe that could cut trough my limb in one blow. But didn't Ralston amputate his arm with a pocketknife or something?

It depends on how delirious I would be (A man is afterall capable of amazing achievements when in a delirious state.), but I really couldn't say.

 

[Valkyira]

Well, it depends. How do I amputate it. Do I just pull until it rips?

Well, Ralston did it like this. Spoiler for those who don't want to know.

Spoiler: Not for those with a weak stomach.

First of all, he broke the two bones in his arm just a little above the right wrist. He then got a cheap multitool thing and used the small blade to cut open his arm.. He saw the artery and remembered to wrap a tourniquet around his arm to cut the flow of blood to stop him from bleeding to death. He then just chopped and sawed at everything (including the nerve), until it was off and he was free.

 

[PurplePlatypus]

No, and it would probably be the stupidest thing I ever could attempt.

 

[Valkyira]

Maybe if I had a razor sharp axe that could cut trough my limb in one blow. But didn't Ralston amputate his arm with a pocketknife or something?

It depends on how delirious I would be (A man is afterall capable of amazing achievements when in a delirious state.), but I really couldn't say.

Yeah, Ralston used a cheap multi tool which he was quoted as saying "what you'd get if you bought a fifteen dollar flashlight and got a fee multi-use tool".

 

[AlohaJo]

I would find another out of the situation. There is usually always another way out of a situation like that, but as soon as a person goes into shock, their minds will jump to the worst-case scenario, and they'll make choice that could have been prevented.

But then again, I've never been in a prolonged state where my life was in danger (just a few quick-reflex instances), so I can't really give a proper answer.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Well I don't know. I'd like to say that I could do something like that, but I can't be too certain. If I could do it nice and quick, one swipe from an axe and its off, then I think I would be able to steel myself for it and then do it. If it took longer, I think that I would have a much harder time doing it. I might be able to get all the way through it, but more likely I'd chicken out before even starting.

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Honestly, I don't think I could. I know I'd have to, but I'd probably end up deluding myself into thinking the moment I try, rescue would arrive. If it didn't, I'd probably end up dying a slow death in hope of something better.

I'm a very patient person, which could work against me in such a hopeless situation.

 

[KILLERTHING]

Hell no i cant play game one handed

 

[Dirkie]

Physically i would be able to do it, mentally is a completely different thing.
But when i have to consider living without an arm, have a small time of extreme pain or die at that place with my arm still attached, i might decide to go for it and figure out something afterwards to restore the lost bits.

 

[mikecoulter]

I'd have to stay trapped by the rock and die. I just don't have the guts to cut my own arm off.

 

[L4hlborg]

Nope. Don't think I could do it. Especially in the way mentioned before. I'm not really into breaking my own bones and continueing to rip off my hand. I mean if it could be instantly done, maybe if my life was on the line.

 

[Jedamethis]

I say no, but if the alternative is death...I want to live.

 

[Valkyira]

Hell no i cant play game one handed

But you can play games dead?

...Awesome?