posted on May 2, 2003 02:24:42 PM new
MOAB, Utah (AP) -- A Colorado climber amputated his own arm Thursday, five days after becoming pinned by a boulder, and he was hiking to safety when he was spotted by searchers, authorities said.
Aron Ralston, 27, of Aspen, was in serious condition late Thursday at a hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Ralston was climbing Saturday in Blue John Canyon, adjacent to Canyonlands National Park in far southeastern Utah, when a 200-pound boulder fell on him, pinning his right arm, authorities said.
He ran out of water on Tuesday and on Thursday morning, he decided that his survival required drastic action.
Using his pocketknife, he amputated his arm below the elbow and applied a tourniquet and administered first aid.
He then rigged anchors, fixed a rope and rappelled to the canyon floor.
He hiked downstream and was spotted about 3 p.m. by a Utah Public Safety Helicopter. The search for Ralston had begun the same morning, after authorities were notified he was four days overdue reporting for work.
Ralston was described by authorities as an avid outdoorsman in exceptional physical condition. They said he was known to have climbed 49 of Colorado's major peaks.
I just don't know if I could... would have to be there I suppose.
posted on May 2, 2003 03:06:53 PM new
Agreed it's hard to say what we'd do in certain situations....especially one like this. His very strong will to live is obvious. It wasn't his time to 'go' yet.
The question is not what a man can scorn, or disparage, or find fault with, but what he can love, and value, and appreciate. J. Ruskin
posted on May 4, 2003 08:18:20 PM new
My hat is off to this guy.
I can only imagine what it was like, trapped there for that length of time waiting for help to arrive. Then arriving at the decision to remove his own arm.
I know what if felt like for me, waiting the 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive when I broke my leg (open compound fracture of the left tibia/fibia) 5 years ago.
[ edited by bear1949 on May 4, 2003 08:24 PM ]
posted on May 5, 2003 01:48:57 PM new
bear1949 - We had a fellow here in MI recently had an open fracture like that from an auto accident. The hospital refused to treat him because he was 500 pounds and they said their operating table was only rated for 350 so he lay in emergency for two and a half hours bleeding out. No effort at all to stabilize him. Finally someone arranged a tranfer to a university hospital that said they'd treat him but he was DOA at the other hospital. The legal action his family filed was just decided two days ago. They were awarded $5 million.
I think a monetary award is not enough. The person who triadged him to refuse to teat him should have been charged with negligent homicide if not second degree murder. But hey - He was black and fat. So no big surprise he was not valued at all.
To a degree I can relate to that. The amublance arrived, loaded me & transported me to the hospital (a 45 minute trip), on arrival the on staff ortho doc, looked @ my leg & stated "I'm not touching that", send him to Galveston.
So here I go on a 3 hour trip on a Friday evening from Huntsville TX to Galveston TX (100 miles) with 2 injections of demerol.
I was lucky in the fact there was no hemoraging. The ortho doc's at UTMB/John Sealy managed to save my leg but it was a close call. During the 2nd surgery they came close to taking the leg.
So after 5 1/2 years and 7 surgeries, I still have a left leg to walk on
