Don't have to worry about making SG-1 too tough....

[sg_betty]

Occasionally, I worry that I might be making SG-1 characters too funtional after injuries, getting themselves out of situations when they would really be unconcious. I'm going to stop worrying about that now. From a news story out of Florida that appeared today:

"POSTED: Thursday, October 1, 2009
UPDATED: 10:16 am EDT October 2, 2009

FRUITLAND PARK, Fla. -- A woman riding on a motorcycle in Lake County Thursday night was thrown into a lake and swam to shore after her leg was severed in a three-car crash, according to authorities."

If I'd written that in a story, I'd really be questioning it's believability. Clearly not a problem. On the other hand, next time I read about one of the characters wilting like a flower over a relatively minor injury or illness....

Comments

[callygal1.livejournal.com]

oh...my god.....

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Yep. People are way tougher than we give them credit for, because that's just horrific.

[archersangel (from livejournal.com)]

there's some kind of adrenalinething that kicks in when you're badly injured. like when you break your leg, susposedly you don't feel pain right away. in order so you can get away from the situation where you broke it; e.g. an animal attack.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I think that's true, adrenalin can count for a lot in terms of pain. I was thinking more of blood loss. In some places, cold water could explain that, but not in Florida.

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

A big enough injury will put you into shock so that pain and time become different than in normal circumstances. Your body just won't let you process a certain amount of pain -- it shuts it off.

I know a little about this this having been once bashed into a tree by a horse -- I had a concussion at the time and felt totally fine, but my friends keep wanting me to go lay down someplace. I didn't know why they were so weird about it, until I agreed -- and then tried to reach for the doorknob on the wrong side of a door I'd been through a hundred times. That's when I realized I wasn't as 'fine' as I thought I was. I never did feel like I had a concussion. I had a similar non-reactions from a car accident, where I was 'fine' right after, and the next day could barely get out of bed due to bad things done to my neck muscles.

If she was in water, she might not even have realized about her leg. But she's damn lucky she didn't bleed to death (it's possible that cold water constricted the blood flow, actually helping to save her life).

And if you want some amazing stories, read up on what soldiers actually are able to do while wounded. They do things that you just don't think anyone could manage.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I guess our bodies and minds have these emergency measures, huh? Adrenalin, shock.... Things geared to ward getting us out of the situation that's killing us, so we don't die. I've read some things out of Iraq and Afganistan that are just unbelievable.

Sidenote: the door thing is a very interesting thing. did you actually see the handle in the wrong place, or was it a 'crossed wires' thing where you could see it in the right place, but the wrong hand reached out to open it?

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

Right hand, but knob was not there. My brain put it there. When I couldn't find it (hand closed over nothing), took a few blinks to reset the door image and show it correct. Concussions really scramble the brain for a bit. Data just wasn't coming in right, but all my responses felt okay.

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

Interesting! *files concussion information away for later use, because at some point someone is guaranteed to end up with a concussion* ;)

[randomfreshink.livejournal.com]

Do keep in mind that concussion symptoms can vary widely -- depending on the person and degree. You can have everything from being disoriented and dizzy, to unconscious and brain damage. And lots in between (which is why medical encyclopedias are so handy to have around)

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I'll be staying away from brain damage. ;)
I don't have a paper encyclopedia, but I don't know what I'd do without online reference materials. Yay, internet!