Research of less-than-desirable topics (wounds, wound complications, etc.)
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Thank you! I’d really appreciate that. I need a day or two to tighten up the first part then I’ll send you the link. I did start yours and it was very intriguing. I look forward to finishing up reading it.
@the-inkspiller Ah, gotcha. *nods*
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
Lol! Medicine’s a messy business and a field prone to the inflation of one’s head. I hope I haven’t come across as pedantic in my answers, but I surmise I’ve been useful. Also, if you desire beta-readers or critiquers for other parts of your story, lemme know. I quite enjoyed what I’ve read so far and would be delighted to read more!
Non nobis Domine, sed nomini, Tuo da gloriam.
No, not at all! At least, not in a bad way! *grins* (ok well technically being pedantic is bad, but you get my point, I hope XD) And you’ve been very useful! 🙂 Ooh, I actually would love for you to read the rest! I will warn you though, it’s not finished… A friend read it the other day and was less-than-excited to learn I hadn’t any more written XD But if you’re ok with having to wait to read the finished product, here’s the link to as much as I have written: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DEONnoORaGmLFlUoZ6lcJV3j4qWgVOuF05gbM5wLtLQ/edit?usp=sharing
(And anyone else who comes across this, feel free to read/comment!) I’ve highlighted parts of it to remind myself of things, and have a couple comments to myself, so those can be disregarded as you wish.
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
@the-inkspiller *returns in official Begging Pose (TM)*
I has a character. . . who ends up in a pretty bad accident. . . and I need to know the best way to let him heal up. . .
He ends up falling about twice the height of a small cottage (I don’t know. . . maybe thirty feet? I’m bad at giving good estimates) and breaking at least a leg and several ribs, not to mention bad bruising. Should other stuff happen too? What’s the best way for ribs to heal? How long would all this take to heal, approximately? (By the way, the fall is slowed, though not broken, on the way down.)
Thank youuuu. . .
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
This
Better
Not
Be
Kiet
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
@the-inkspiller Oh, by the way, I will get around to reading your story! Sometime XD Hopefully today or tomorrow afternoon, but I make no promises.
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
Why
Would
I
Share
Such
Information
With
You
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
You
Are
Acting
Suspicious
And
I
Still
Think
It’s
Kiet
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
You
Are
Forgetting
I
Have
Other
Children
Too
>:)
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
Apologies for the delayed response!
Thirty feet sounds like a pretty darn tall cottage. Sounds more like the height of a townhouse. A cottage – like the medieval idea of one – would probably be about 10 feet at its peak (and probably more like 6-8 feet of ceiling height).
Regardless, people have suffered similar injuries (or worse) from far less shorter falls; people have broken shins and femurs at heights of 3 feet, all because they landed badly. By the same token, some professional athletes, gymnasts and parkourists have managed falls from 15 – 20 feet without a scratch or with only minor bruising, even onto hard surfaces, all because they have good technique in landing at their strongest point and redirecting the energy from vertical into horizontal rolling momentum.
However, thirty feet is probably going to rough you up even if you’re a master-class rooftop runner and it’s a relatively soft surface like freshly tilled dirt (which I’m guessing it’s not).
1) Assuming your character lands on his feet, injuries are most likely to occur to the bones of the feet and legs: he could end up breaking fracturing his heel, his shin bones (tibia and fibula), and torn ligaments with any involved joints, particularly the knees and ankles. The femurs are unlikely to be damaged; your thigh bones are extremely tough, and coupled with the cushioning effect of the gluteal and hamstring muscles and fat, very unlikely to break unless hit with a heavy blade-like object which cuts through all of that tissue, or hit a very hard surface with spectacular force (or on the side of the leg). In a fall like this, unless he tilts over afterwards and then hits his torso on a rock, he’s unlikely to have breaks in his upper torso (ribs) or arms. Now, if he hit his chest on a thick branch on the way down (say at about 15 feet) that would definitely account for some broken ribs (and probably a scraped up face too, depending on the angle he hits it at / rotation).
2) If he does a belly-flop with arms out front, that would produce a host of injuries and fractures in the hands and forearms, torn ligaments from trying to stop yourself with your hands, dislocations from the same (most likely elbow or shoulder), broken ribs, and probably a pretty busted up face. Hitting a rock could be fatal if it’s near the face, neck, or torso, and will destroy a joint if he hits it with an arm or a leg. For the pelvis and below: pelvis could be fractured; knees will take the worst of the damage for the legs, toes could be damaged as well; in this position, the femurs will be subject to more stress than the shin bones, as your legs are most likely bent and your shins hitting the ground only after your knees / torso have made contact.
3) If he falls on his back – he could be paralyzed for life, if not killed on impact. He could easily shatter his spine or dislocate several vertebrae even if he’s falling on normal dirt. The most likely area of injury depends on his rotation as he falls, but assuming he instinctively curls up as he falls, he’s most likely to land on the lumbar / thoracic vertebrae, breaking ribs and vertebrae, potentially severing his spinal cord and paralyzing his lower extremities. If he’s straight plummeting head-first, he’s quite likely to die on impact from a broken neck or skull.
Slowing will affect the damage suffered in a linear fashion; reducing the velocity at which you hit the ground will have the same effect as reducing the height of the fall. That is unless said slowing comes from whacking your noggin on a tree branch on the way down; that is not only bad for your head, but introduces uncontrolled rotational momentum, potentially resulting in other or worsened injuries.
Barring the paralysis of case 3) – any sort of fracture from a fall like this is likely to be severe, so we’re looking at 2-3 months of healing time for a single fracture; probably add a couple weeks for each additional break. A child (12 and under) might heal in 2 months or less, but adolescents and adults simply have so much more bone mass to reconstruct (and tend to hit the ground harder, being heavier) that even a simple break can take a while to fix – to say nothing of breaking several bones at once in a pretty bad fall.
Non nobis Domine, sed nomini, Tuo da gloriam.
@the-inkspiller *star eyes* Thank you!!
Okay, so I think I’m going to have him hit a branch with his chest about halfway down and land on his feet, breaking some bones in his feet and legs.
Now, how would you care for broken ribs? And would he be able to use crutches for his legs without hurting himself further? *is very uneducated in these matters*
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
It
Also
Better
Not
Be
Tai
Also
Why
Are
We
Still
Writing
This
Like
This
Lol
*is reading through @the-inkspiller ‘s response to Naiya, cause who knows? Might be useful 😛 *
All my characters: *try to find a delete button for this thread*
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
You
Are
Seriously
Restricting
My
Writer’s
Freedoms!
(Because
It’s
More
Dramatic
That
Way)
Who am I supposed to throw off a cliff if you keep on laying down restrictions??? Tai’s dog???
Tai: NO
Heh, but you still don’t know >:)
Hearts are like matter--they can be beaten down, torn, and burned, but they cannot be destroyed.
But
I
Love
Your
Characters
And
I
Want
To
Protect
Them.
No
Cliffs.
NOOOO NOT HIS DOGGO!! 🙁 🙁
You’re right, I don’t XD It’s almost worse this way XD
“Enough! Be quiet! I can’t hear myself think! I can’t hear my teeth chatter!"
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