08-01-2013, 02:19 PM
This video annoyed me to no end. There was so much wrong with his discussion of spinal cord injuries. Since I actually have had the oppritunity to work with patients with spinal cord injuries (and some of them are some of the most amazing stories you'll ever hear, I had to bring some things out.)
He DID indeed mention spinal shock. But, he didn't explain it very well. Spinal shock can be massively deadly. And, it actually travels the spinal cord. Even if she was pierced at the T7 level, there would be a high chance of being paralyzed at the T4-T5 level. The reason being is that blood escapes around the injury, it crushes parts of the spinal cord that were previously unaffected and you become paralyzed at a higher zone than what could have been. It's actually a common phenomenon. He did mention it causes paralysis, but it actually even causes death.
At that level, and if that would happen, (which it most likely would), her Autonomic nervous system would go haywire. This part of your nervous system controls your unconscious organs, affecting things like heart rate, blood pressure, and so forth. Due to the injury being high enough, natural reflex arcs would become damaged and would be displayed, even if she was unconscious, if you were to put a noxious stimulus on her body below the level of injury.
What happens if you step on something sharp? Your heart rate goes up and you quickly move, and your brain shuts the process back down. You don't think about it, you have to think about it to actually shut it down. What if your brain doesn't send back a message to stop the reflex? A painful stimulus in a spinal cord patient from that is affected around T6 or up, upon something that would normally be painful, the person's heart rate will go up, they will start sweating profusely, and their blood pressure sky rockets. And since their brain doesn't send the message to the lower part of the body, they doesn't exit this. It can be deadly.
Why do I mention this? If Aerith was still alive when Cloud put her in water, she would most likely experience what I described above, even if she was still unconscious. Plainly put, there is a very high chance she would turn red and begin sweating quickly. This would be easily visible, even if she wasn't moving. The fact that this does not occur points to her being dead when she was dumped.
A second point he fails to mention is INCOMPLETE spinal cord injuries. Say you went back to a a 6 lane highway, and a crash occurs in the most right hand lane. Two lanes of traffic are blocked off, but the other four keep going. The same thing can happen to spinal cord patients. For example, I actually worked with an incomplete spinal cord patient that partially severed the cord a the C3 level (in his neck.) He should have only control over his shoulders, but no arm, fingers, or legs. But, due to it being an incomplete tear, some of the info gets through. He can't feel anything below his neck, but in what is perhaps the most shocking thing you can imagine, he retained his muscle control and can still walk, unsteady and with a walker, but HE STILL WALKS.
Why do I mention this? A thin sword could potentially piece only part of the cord, leaving her some abilities below the stomach region. While such a thing is rare, it is not unheard of, as I described a case above (BTW, that high that I described is incredibly rare. He may be the only spinal cord patient alive in the world with an injury that high that still walks. I'm not kidding.)
So Aerith may have retained motion, just not feeling. And if spinal shock wouldn't set in, she would most likely keep it. And, based on the way the sword entered, such a scenario is entirely feasible.
A second thing I wanted to bring out is a liver laceration is pretty much always deadly. The sword would have went through her liver. That sword guy in the video never had his liver pierced, and the markings on his skin were clearly in a pattern to avoid his liver. Aerith would have bled to death internally from the liver, and had 7 minutes to live. Tops.
Ok, END RANT!!!
He DID indeed mention spinal shock. But, he didn't explain it very well. Spinal shock can be massively deadly. And, it actually travels the spinal cord. Even if she was pierced at the T7 level, there would be a high chance of being paralyzed at the T4-T5 level. The reason being is that blood escapes around the injury, it crushes parts of the spinal cord that were previously unaffected and you become paralyzed at a higher zone than what could have been. It's actually a common phenomenon. He did mention it causes paralysis, but it actually even causes death.
At that level, and if that would happen, (which it most likely would), her Autonomic nervous system would go haywire. This part of your nervous system controls your unconscious organs, affecting things like heart rate, blood pressure, and so forth. Due to the injury being high enough, natural reflex arcs would become damaged and would be displayed, even if she was unconscious, if you were to put a noxious stimulus on her body below the level of injury.
What happens if you step on something sharp? Your heart rate goes up and you quickly move, and your brain shuts the process back down. You don't think about it, you have to think about it to actually shut it down. What if your brain doesn't send back a message to stop the reflex? A painful stimulus in a spinal cord patient from that is affected around T6 or up, upon something that would normally be painful, the person's heart rate will go up, they will start sweating profusely, and their blood pressure sky rockets. And since their brain doesn't send the message to the lower part of the body, they doesn't exit this. It can be deadly.
Why do I mention this? If Aerith was still alive when Cloud put her in water, she would most likely experience what I described above, even if she was still unconscious. Plainly put, there is a very high chance she would turn red and begin sweating quickly. This would be easily visible, even if she wasn't moving. The fact that this does not occur points to her being dead when she was dumped.
A second point he fails to mention is INCOMPLETE spinal cord injuries. Say you went back to a a 6 lane highway, and a crash occurs in the most right hand lane. Two lanes of traffic are blocked off, but the other four keep going. The same thing can happen to spinal cord patients. For example, I actually worked with an incomplete spinal cord patient that partially severed the cord a the C3 level (in his neck.) He should have only control over his shoulders, but no arm, fingers, or legs. But, due to it being an incomplete tear, some of the info gets through. He can't feel anything below his neck, but in what is perhaps the most shocking thing you can imagine, he retained his muscle control and can still walk, unsteady and with a walker, but HE STILL WALKS.
Why do I mention this? A thin sword could potentially piece only part of the cord, leaving her some abilities below the stomach region. While such a thing is rare, it is not unheard of, as I described a case above (BTW, that high that I described is incredibly rare. He may be the only spinal cord patient alive in the world with an injury that high that still walks. I'm not kidding.)
So Aerith may have retained motion, just not feeling. And if spinal shock wouldn't set in, she would most likely keep it. And, based on the way the sword entered, such a scenario is entirely feasible.
A second thing I wanted to bring out is a liver laceration is pretty much always deadly. The sword would have went through her liver. That sword guy in the video never had his liver pierced, and the markings on his skin were clearly in a pattern to avoid his liver. Aerith would have bled to death internally from the liver, and had 7 minutes to live. Tops.
Ok, END RANT!!!