Initially, I was in a state of utter dismay upon learning that someone had completed an amputation on themselves. However, as I read further into the book I began to understand how far humans will truly go when in moribund circumstances in order to keep themselves alive. Ralston had the idea of cutting his arm off on only the second day, but was unable to even stomach the idea of it, “I remembered how the sight of the metal blade against my wrist repelled my hand and left my stomach heaving” (164). By the third day Aron was desperate, running out of hope and supplies. This was when he attempted an amputation for the first time, but could only just scratch the surface of his skin before deciding the knife was much too dull to cut through bone.
“Amputees by Choice” written by Bayne and Levy, conists of an unusual topic. Bayne and Levy examine and discuss two basic questions. The first question they look into is the motivations people to have a perfectly healthy limb amputated? The other question concerns what circumstances would a doctor comply with a patients’ wish to get a limb amputated. Along with the other two questions, Levy and Bayne discuss other erratic cases involving the amputation of one’s limbs. More specifically, Levy and Bayne attempt to define and analyze Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). This disorder occurs when people think incorrectly about their healthy limbs. In addition to BDD, Apotemnophiles are sexually attracted to amputees, and are sexually excited by the fact that maybe becoming an amputee as well.
Chimpanzees make tools and use them to procure foods and for social exhibitions; they have refined hunting tactics requiring collaboration, influence and rank; they are status cognizant, calculating and capable of trickery; they can learn to use symbols and understand facets of human language including some interpersonal composition, concepts of number and numerical sequence and they are proficient in spontaneous preparation for a future state or event.
Resection was a process that “involved cutting open the limb, sawing out the damaged bone, and then closing the incision” (Jones, 1). Resection allows the patient to keep his limbs but it requires a great ordeal of time and skill. This also contributed to the common practice of amputation during the war. But there were cases where surgeons did use this method. Terry J. Jones said in his NY Times article, “resections were used more frequently after surgeons learned that amputations had a much higher mortality rate” (Jones, 1). In another article by Corydon Ireland, it describes Mitchell Adam’s, a Harvard lecturer, grandfather who served as a volunteer surgeon during the Civil War. In the article, “Adams was not a champion of hasty amputations, but argued for excision and other limb-saving measures. And he describes the everyday pressures of a country practice in Framingham, Mass” (Ireland, 1). This meant that not all surgeons at the time only wanted to amputate but strived for alternate methods. This new knowledge shows that some surgeons were more dedicated to thinking about the well-being of their patients than others and this opens up to other possibilities that may have occurred during the war. This allows an image to come to mind of a surgeon diligently operating on a soldier with care and compassion. However, even though there may be many possibilities, we can’t truly know every event that occurs during a
Strange as that this may sound, when a Wannabee person lose a limb they are actually gaining so much more of who they felt they are. As one Amputee said to his doctor “you have made me the happiest of all men by taking away from me a limb which put an invincible obstacle to my
He was driving in Iraq when the bomb went off. His legs and left hand are gone. He spent 13 months in the hospital and had 40 operations. Bryan does not like to celebrate his Alive day because he thinks of it as the worst day of his life and he doesn't want to be reminded of that every year. . When he first starts talking the camera is zoomed into his face and upper body so he didn't seem injured at all. The he discussed his injury and it showed his fake hand and that he had no legs. When he talked about what had happened he seemed shocked. He mentioned that if he lost both of his hands he said it wouldn't be worth it. His one hand gives him hope to live his life. He expresses that he believes that his hand will heal and he could be able to feel again. His tone of voice is very positive, he looks on the bright side. Bryan says, “I can still pick up a fork and feed myself” (Anderson). He talks about the daily task he can do and not what he can't
Anthropology is the study of the development of humankind within their different cultures. When one looks inside a culture, they can see the true aspects and meanings behind a societies behavior and traits. By following the principle that is cultural relativism, one can also determine that no culture truly surpasses another culture, and that each society has key differences that are important to its culture and location. This is a method that can also be seen in many intriguing films from this semester, one in particular being The Emerald Forest. Throughout this essay, this film will be analyzed around one character who greatly represents what it means to truly immerse oneself into a different culture to gain a new perspective, and many key terms in anthropology will be explored through 4 different films from the semester.
...hat lies ahead rather than focusing on the past. “I’ve accepted it and I even joke around and make fun of myself sometimes! It’s not really weird anymore to look at myself in the mirror and see one arm. I’m not grieving it; I’m using it to share God’s glory (to share my story). I made the decision early on not to mourn the loss, and I’ve stuck to that…I don’t even think ‘What if’ or ‘Why me’ questions. I accept having one arm as who I am” (217). Hamilton also writes “…I’m always changing spiritually, growing stronger as I get to know God better and have opportunities to put my faith into action” (218). Hamilton looks at the attack as an opportunity to learn, grow and inspire others.
Many times, the nurses treated patients that had suffered from multiple traumatic injuries, it was a rare occasion to witness a patient with a single wound. A great deal of times these injuries were far worse. Due to the hostility of the war, these patients could have lost both legs, while also suffering from a head trauma. Furthermore, hospitals become quickly overcrowded as estrangement grew in the country of Vietnam, the number of causalities increased. A wartime nurse by the name of Anne N. Philiben, remembers one of the hardest times she ever wrestled with while serving in the army nurse corps. “One of the most severely injured was John. He had wounds to his face and lost one eye, one leg below the knee, the other above the knee, and one arm. He also lost some fingers on the other hand. Anne dubbed John as a ‘train wreck.’ Saying that his body was so savaged it was miraculous he survived” (Gruhzit-Hoyt,
However, his realization of the injury was further pushed to him when his doctor offered him prosthesis. At face value, prosthesis gives hope to amputees, enabling them to return to their normal lives with the minimum technicalities, however Paul sees prosthesis on a different matter. “Let me say it again : I don’t want a prosthesis.’ Dr Hansen and Nurse Elaine exchange glances. ‘if you don’t want a prosthesis, what would you prefer?’ ‘I would prefer to take care of myself.” (10) Not only he refused the prosthesis, Paul completely ignore the line of questioning about his disability. The refusal of the prosthesis made his to make a choice, giving his the mentality that he is still in control of his life. Mad on his lack of option on his amputation, the ability to pick the prosthesis is a small, yet crucial decision that he could make for his own life. Additionally, the use of prosthesis symbolize that he surrenders and accept that he is a feeble old man who cannot make choices for himself. When Paul said that he wants to take care of himself, he was emphasizing that this tragedy that happened to him was not as life altering as the doctor thinks. Paul’s long lived years as a single , independent man affected his thoughts and how to process his current
The lights are dim and the voices quiet. Tension fills the room where Nafisa, a six-year-old Sudanese girl lies on a bed in the corner. Her aunt, 25-year-old Zeinab, watches protectively as her niece undergoes the procedure now known as female genital mutilation (FGM), formerly called female circumcision. In this procedure, performed without anaesthesia, a girl's external sexual organs are partially or totally cut away. Zeinab does not approve.
also films that could have been seen for a small price, but if one has the time
Embarking on a journey of anthropological fieldwork will undoubtedly include a plethora of setbacks. At its foundation, fieldwork requires developing rapport with the native people in order to gain access of genuine knowledge pertaining to the specific culture being studied. Subsequently, social communication between the researcher and the native people is a key component to the entire process; yet simultaneously it is a root of the many problems a researcher can encounter while in the field. It is no secret that the cultural background of the researcher can often highly contrast the culture he or she enters during fieldwork. This initial cultural adaptation one must undergo while doing anthropological fieldwork is what many in the realm describe as culture shock.
Prior to the nineteenth century, the existence of god and the fixity of species was accepted by the people. Governments and churches were one. They ruled it all, and punished anyone that would challenge them. In 1859 the book, The Origin Of Species, was published. The author, Charles Darwin, was attacked by the media, and mocked by many. He became the face of a generation for the idea that man were descendants of apes. The theory of evolution was dismissed. In today's society, there is much more evidence leading to the possibilities of it being a reality. The field of physical anthropology is now responsible for ideas and theories that might contribute to the Theory of Evolution.
The case study involving Dr. Robert Smith and his patients is a very intense, yet gruesome study that involves much analysis. When you first hear about amputating completely healthy limbs, it's deemed as a very bizarre request. For most people with common sense, you would think that people who want to do that are crazy and shouldn't be allowed to. However, looking further into why a person may want that done can change your judgement. In this case regarding Dr. Smith, he was okay with performing operations on his patients no matter how strange the situation was. Although Dr. Smith had already done two procedures, he was stopped from doing a third amputation from the hospital board. I believe that the hospital board was not morally justified in their decision to refuse permission for Dr. Smith to perform a third amputation for several reasons involving bioethics.
In addition, research for this project enabled me to identify five essential elements for acquiring cross cultural competency which I will use as guidelines in conflict resolution in my future occupation: