You're stuck between two rocks, you are all alone, and the only way out is by cutting
off your own arm.
Would you do it?
Or perhaps a better question would be: could you survive the pain, mental toll, and rehabilitation
associated with losing an arm?
Let’s find out.
It should come as no surprise that whether you need to cut your arm off yourself in an
emergency situation, or if a doctor needs to amputate a limb, it’s going to be painful.
At some point during your life you have scratched your arm on something.
It might have hurt, but the pain went away pretty quickly.
Keep in mind that a scratch to the arm is only damaging the skin and maybe a small sliver
of muscle.
If your arm is completely cut off, every muscle, bone, and nerve needs to be severed from the
rest of your body.
What does this feel like?
Well like most deep cuts there is a burning sensation.
And as the blade, or whatever is being used to remove your arm goes deeper, the pain gets
greater and greater until you pass out from shock.
This is because as the arm is severed the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and eventually
bone all need to be cut through.
Each of these parts of the body have millions of nerves running through them, which means
your brain will be overwhelmed with pain signals.
But before we go any further into the reality of losing an arm, let’s talk about what
could lead to the loss of this limb.
It is actually highly unlikely that someone would need to have their arm amputated for
any reason.
Like in 127 Hours, which depicts the heroic escape of Aron Ralston when he cuts off his
own arm that was trapped under a boulder while rock climbing; sometimes drastic times call
for drastic measures.
And when this happens, you can be sure of two things.
The first is cutting off the arm will be extremely painful, and the second is you will go into
shock.
But a more common reason for arm amputation is problems with blood circulation as a result
of clots or diabetes.
Irreparable injuries during accidents or military combat also may result in the amputation of
an arm, but this is only if nothing else can be done.
And finally, cancer can sometimes result in an arm being amputated if it can stop the
spread of a dangerous tumor.
In these cases you would not be responsible for cutting off your own limb.
So, what would this process be like?
Surprisingly, it may be worse than you think, and even in a hospital you may be awake for
the whole thing.
Most times when an arm needs to be amputated the patient is put under anesthesia, so they
are not conscious during the procedure.
However, in extreme circumstances like accidents where the arm needs to be removed quickly
to save a person's life, they may just be pumped full of painkillers and have their
arm removed.
There are other cases where a patient isn’t in immediate danger of dying, and is still
kept awake for the amputation.
This happens when someone is given spinal anesthesia, which numbs the body so the specific
limb can be removed.
A word of caution for this procedure: the anesthesia needs to be administered directly
into the spinal column, which means a very large needle will need to penetrate through
the back.
This can be really painful in and of itself, and you haven’t even had your arm cut off
yet.
This type of amputation is not as common, but is sometimes used depending on the doctor
and the situation that the arm is being amputated in.
This brings us to the procedure itself.
Unfortunately, the best way to remove an arm is still by saw.
At some point we may have high tech lasers, or some sort of lightsaber, that can cut right
through the flesh and bone in one go.
But for right now, we are at the mercy of the bone saw.
Today doctors use more refined bone saws than in the past, and some are even electric to
make the cutting process go as smoothly as possible.
But regardless of what type of saw is used, the arm will still be cut through by a sharp
blade, which obviously will be incredibly painful and uncomfortable both during, and
after, the operation.
It is important to remember that when someone has their arm removed the pain will last much
longer than the surgery itself.
People who have lost their arm recount the unpleasant feeling of being constantly pricked
by needles where their arm once was.
Luckily, if this is a planned surgery, you will be asleep and not able to feel anything
when the arm is amputated.
But the doctor still needs to cut through the muscle, ligaments, and bone so the recovery
process is long no matter what.
Something else to note is that when the arm is completely severed from the body, the exposed
bone must be smoothed out.
This is because a jagged bone would damage any flesh that regrew over it, and would literally
tear the new skin and muscle apart from the inside.
So, the doctors file and polish the exposed bone to make it as smooth as possible.
Again, you would not be able to feel this at the time because you’d be under anesthesia,
but when you wake up, the bone would throb and ache as all of the nerve endings in it
would have been buffered down.
This brings us to the final stage of amputating an arm.
Whether it is self amputation, or cut off by a doctor, the remaining stump needs to
be closed up so you do not bleed out.
If you are in a dire situation where you have to remove your own arm, at some point the
pain may subside slightly.
This is because when the body goes into shock the brain stops processing pain signals in
the normal way.
It is just trying to survive by any means necessary at this point.
So, even though the pain might not be registering, the body is still in mortal danger, and what
remains of the arm needs to be wrapped and cauterized.
In the hospital, doctors will shape the muscles so that the remainder of the limb can be fitted
for a prosthetic in the future.
This means that more muscle may be removed, and skin may be taken from a different part
of the body and surgically connected to where the arm had once been.
In a hospital the amputee would be under anesthesia for this, but what happens next is probably
the worst part about losing your arm.
It comes as no surprise that having your arm cut off would be painful.
But it is the feelings after the arm is removed that many amputees say is the most brutal
part of the whole experience.
Many amputees talk about still being able to feel their arm connected to their body
even after it’s removed.
This is called a phantom limb.
Obviously the arm isn’t actually there, but the brain cannot reckon with that reality,
so it creates all of the sensations as if the limb was still attached.
This includes touch, itches, and pain.
Imagine having an itch on a limb that wasn’t there, so it couldn’t be scratched.
Or feeling a cramp in a muscle that no longer existed.
That would be enough to drive anyone crazy.
Which brings us to the next reality of losing an arm.
There will be denial and depression.
This will not be a physical feeling, but definitely one that a person who has their arm amputated
would have to deal with.
Oftentimes these feelings can manifest themselves as sadness, anger, and frustration.
The physical pain of losing an arm can sometimes be easier to deal with than the mental toll
it can take.
This is why if you lose your arm doctors recommend not just physical therapy, but counseling
as well.
The mental burden that is thrust upon someone who has literally lost a part of themselves,
is unfathomable.
People who have lost their arm and been asked what it felt like often say the same types
of things.
It hurts a lot; once you get past the pain, the body still thinks the arm is there; and
finally, the feelings of denial and depression take over so it is hard to stay motivated.
But with the support of family, friends, and doctors some amazing things can also happen
after someone loses their arm.
Another side effect that many people who have had their arm amputated feel is a loss of
balance.
This makes sense since you would be significantly lighter on one side of the body than the other.
Plus, your brain is so used to dealing with balanced weight between the left and right
side of the body, it can’t compensate at first.
This means someone who lost their arm will feel disoriented for a while post surgery.
Things like going for a walk may become strenuous as the body makes adjustments to weight shifts
that it never had to deal with before.
Again, this is why after losing an arm it is important to go through physical therapy
and counseling.
It is the recovery process that can be the most painful part of the whole thing.
But losing an arm may not actually be forever.
There are some amazing prosthetics that can function just like an actual arm.
Science and engineering has come a long way, and although these new prosthetics are still
really expensive, in the future they may be affordable to everyone.
It is important to remember that people are resilient, and just because someone has had
their arm amputated doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of doing whatever they want.
Also, some people may never want a prosthetic arm at all, and that’s okay too because
it’s their choice.
But for those who do want to take advantage of this alternative, there are now prosthetic
limbs that can function almost as if they were a part of your own body.
Some prosthetic arms can be controlled by thought, and although this technology is still
being developed, the promise that it holds is incredible.
Someday soon people who have lost an arm may be able to replace it with a robotic one.
There is also a procedure called replantation where a limb can be reconnected to the body
that was once severed off.
This is normally done with fingers and toes, but entire limbs can be reattached with success
as well.
In special circumstances if an arm that has been severed from the body can be put on ice,
it can be reattached.
During replantation the patient is brought into the operating room and damaged tissue
is removed from the limb and the body.
Then the bone ends of where the limb was severed are shortened so that they can be rejoined
together with metal pins, wires, and plates.
The connection between the severed arm and the rest of the body is held in place by screws
and metal rods until the tissue can regrow around it.
After everything is reconnected by surgeons, they may graft muscle and skin from other
parts of the body onto the reattached arm.
This whole process would be extremely painful as the body heals around the metal.
Changes in temperature could cause soreness, while constant doctors check ups are required
to make sure there are no infections post surgery.
But if all goes according to plan with replantation, someone who lost their arm may be lucky enough
to have it reattached to their body once again.
Now check out “What Does it Actually Feel Like to be Shot.”
Or watch “What Happens When You Are KNOCKED OUT?”