The Man Who Cut Off His Own Hand to Avoid Certain Death
By: Andrei Tapalaga
Tags: Life Lessons, Health, History, Mental Health, Psychology

The Man Who Cut Off His Own Hand to Avoid Certain Death

Aron Ralston

A selfie taken by Aron Ralston when he was stuck with his hand between the canyon and boulder and a picture of the bolder after the incident (Source: The Guardian)

Life can bring us major challenges that will test not only our character but our will to fight against the odds. In Aron Ralston’s case, life brought the challenge of a lifetime, which most people don’t encounter and even those who do will most likely fail. In 2003, Ralston had to make a drastic decision, it was either cutting off his hand or dying. As always, things are not as simple as they sound, this is why we need to dig deeper into what actually happened.

Just another hike outdoors

Aron Ralston is a mechanical engineer and since a young age, he loved to spend his free time outdoors. He kept this hobby throughout his life, escaping his job and going out in the wilderness, exploring the vast nature that America has to offer. In 2003, he decided to take a hike in the Bluejohn Canyon (Wayne County, Utah). He was quite good at hiking, but no matter how good you are, the terrain can always play against your plan.

As he was hiking the canyon, a big boulder fell in the crater that Ralston found himself in, locking his hand between the canyon and the boulder. The boulder weighed at least a couple of tonnes, therefore there was no way to move it. Although Ralston tried to use his equipment to move the boulder, he had no luck.

Surrounded by miles of unhabited wilderness, his chances of being helped by someone were extremely slim. After the first day passed whilst he was stuck, friends and family were worried that he didn’t come back from his hike. He never told anyone the path he was going to take. He had a cellphone, but he had no signal whatsoever down in the narrow crater.

He tried the small swiss knife he had to break the boulder enough to free his hand, but it was to no good use. Due to his hand being stuck, he was in a very uncomfortable position that didn't allow him to sit down, which meant that he could not get much rest. As the fourth day passed of being stuck, he had lost all hope. He knew that no one was coming and with his food and water supplies depleted, death seemed certain.

A drastic decision

In a mind over matter thought, he knew deep down that the only way that he could survive was to cut his hand. Besides being a very despicable idea, it was either that or death. The problem was that Ralston only had his swiss knife on him, which was not the sharpest or the best tool to “surgically” remove a hand. You can only imagine how mentally difficult it is to harm yourself, let alone cut your own hand.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston

With the belt he had on him as well as some other ropes, he tied all of them around his arm to stop the bleeding whilst cutting the hand. So he started cutting as quickly as possible in order to lose the least amount of blood possible. A good description of this gruesome experience is offered in Ralston’s autobiography, Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

After Ralston managed to cut his hand off, he rushed out of the canyon, and to his luck, he ran into some tourists that helped him. It is so difficult to imagine the mental position you not only have to be placed by a certain event but also the mental position in which you need to put yourself in to be able to cut off your own hand, or any limb for that matter.

Would you be able to make such a drastic decision if your life depended on it?