Cutting off your own arm?

[Nemo]

yesterday i watched a show about Aron Ralston, a hiker who was pinned by a boulder in Utah for five days and eventually cut off his own arm with a pocket knife to survive. i couldn't believe how anyone would be able to go through with it. could you imagine using a dull knife to cut through the bone on your arm? that would have to hurt like a bitch!

so is there anyone here who would honestly cut off their own arm to save their life? i could never imagine mutilating myself like that, but to survive, it would probably be a good call.

[PowerMadx5z]

I would,But only if it were my Left arm.... If its my Right,Ill just kill myself,I cant use my left arm well.

[EternitySpent]

Cut it off hells no, I would rather gnaw it off gradually, then I can have food too. Which would make a super combo.

[Nemo]

At 12/13/04 09:44 PM, -FallenKnight- wrote: Cut it off hells no, I would rather gnaw it off gradually, then I can have food too. Which would make a super combo.

yeah eating it off would probably be worse, but it is a food source. well i know when you get trapped by a boulder what you would do.

[casiofiend]

Of course. It's better to live handicapped than to just, well, die. Besides, then you'd have an awesome story to tell at parties! (Not that that's the reason I'd do it, oh no... ^_~)

[Le-Baron]

He tied a turnicate around his arm before he did it, thus numbing some of the pain. I believe he has one of those crazy robotic arms now.

[Floato]

I read about it

yeah I'd do it, cause otherwise you'd die from starvation

[Shrapnel]

At 12/13/04 09:42 PM, Primal wrote: y could you imagine using a dull knife to cut through the bone on your arm?

Did he actually cut off his bone or did he actually dig through the joint to cut it off? I saw that on TV before but I forgot about it.

It's crazy that he didn't die of the bleeding but I suppose you'd be so dehyrdated by then that youl wouldn't bleed that much?
The story kind of just emphasizes the need to inform someone where you're going if you're hiking.

[b3nnic3]

That happened a while ago. He even as a book out about it.

[Deathsaw]

I think I would go through with it.It's just an arm.Unless it's my left arm.I don't want to kill my girlfriend.Oh she wants to give a massage.Be right back.

[SuperSculpey]

I think he used the serated knife part of his swiss army knife....when he got to the bone he just snapped the bottom part of his arm off at the joint. I think that if you had a huge boulder crushing your arm you probably wouldnt feel the knife ;)

Me...I would have probably stabbed myself.

[theletterj]

id be a real man and tear it off with my good arm!

[stafffighter]

Actually he twisted his body to break the bones. All this after lift up the tendons and ripping them apart. Makes me feel like never complaining about a bad day again

[papaKLATZ]

Well the boulder probably cut off all feeling in his arm from laying on it for so long.
I know that sometimes I'll sleep on my arm and I wake up in the middle of the night because I can't feel my arm. And that's just from laying on it multiple hours, this guy had the boulder on his arm for 5 days! It was probably so useless after that anyway that he would have had to get it removed anyway.

[Crashman]

I could never do that. It would be terrible, i couldt bare to cut my arm off, how is he now does neone know?

[b3nnic3]

At 12/13/04 09:46 PM, Shrapnel wrote: Did he actually cut off his bone or did he actually dig through the joint to cut it off? I saw that on TV before but I forgot about it.

It's crazy that he didn't die of the bleeding but I suppose you'd be so dehyrdated by then that youl wouldn't bleed that much?

He cut through everything. From about the mid forearm up. When he cut into his arm gasses released because it had already begun to decompose. The only thing that hurt him was when he cut through that big nerve, or so I have read.

[Morextremist]

I think it said the guy was pinned for like a week and in pain for a week without sleep will make a man do crazy things

[dudeI8urmom91]

Well think about it he had been stuck there for five days so it made more sense to him to cut it off than just sit there and starve, of course you couldnt have cut ur arm off right after being stuck but after five days you would have no choice

[Shrapnel]

At 12/13/04 09:50 PM, b3nnic3 wrote:

He cut through everything.

Shit, if it started to decompose, they probably would've cut it off once he got to the hospital anyways.

I kind of want to see a picture out of pure curiousity so I know what to cut should I ever get my arm trapped under a boulder.

[Afro-Ninja]

Geez cmon, didn't you guys see saw??

[Nemo]

if anyone is interested in reading the stories, here are some links. i know they are old, but oh well.
Story I
http://climb-utah.com/Roost/bluejohn2.htm
http://www.cmu.edu/magazine/03fall/aralston.html

[b3nnic3]

At 12/13/04 09:53 PM, Shrapnel wrote: I kind of want to see a picture out of pure curiousity so I know what to cut should I ever get my arm trapped under a boulder.

The boulder was loose from the recent storm. From what I remember he stood on it and it fell. There was sort of a ditch or something. The boulder came to rest into the ditch and he had his arm stuck between the ditch and the boulder. He had to hold his arm up because he fell out of the ditch and onto the ground a few feet down.

He tried to chip th boulder away enough with a larger knife that he had but it became dull and useless after a while. That is why he had to use the pocket knife to cut his arm off.

Some of these facts may be a little off because I read it a while ago.

[HeinousDude]

At 12/13/04 09:42 PM, Primal wrote: so is there anyone here who would honestly cut off their own arm to save their life? i could never imagine mutilating myself like that, but to survive, it would probably be a good call.

I've seen photos of it. I doubt his arm could feel anything after being pinched by huge boulders for 5 days.

Gotta repect his dedication though.

[Ghetto-Penguin]

Give me victory or give me death. That's my answer!

[b3nnic3]

At 12/13/04 09:54 PM, Primal wrote: if anyone is interested in reading the stories, here are some links. i know they are old, but oh well.
Story I
http://climb-utah.com/Roost/bluejohn2.htm
http://www.cmu.edu/magazine/03fall/aralston.html

Well, there you go.

[TropicalParadise]

Think of how much it would hurt to have a bolder on it though. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I would do it if I had to.

[Shrapnel]

At 12/13/04 09:53 PM, Afro_Ninja wrote: Geez cmon, didn't you guys see saw??

I heard it was a lame movie and then humantarget52 told me it sucked so I never saw it but he DID tell me the entire plot and I have to agree that I saved my money by not going.

[Deathsaw]

At 12/13/04 10:04 PM, Shrapnel wrote:

At 12/13/04 09:53 PM, Afro_Ninja wrote: Geez cmon, didn't you guys see saw??

I heard it was a lame movie and then humantarget52 told me it sucked so I never saw it but he DID tell me the entire plot and I have to agree that I saved my money by not going.

Dosen't some dude make a bunch of people kill themselves?

[koreaman]

doesnt cutting off your arm hurt very very very very very very very very much?

[b3nnic3]

At 12/13/04 10:09 PM, koreaman wrote: doesnt cutting off your arm hurt very very very very very very very very much?

Not if the blood has been cut off from it for a week and it has begun to decompose.

Come on, read the topic.