Phantom Limb

[Cumpston1862]

Not sure if this completely qualifies to belong in this forum area but here goes. While performing an information search for a recent CivilWarTalk Trivia question I came across this bit of information. A Confederate soldier wounded at the Battle of Sharpsburg and being treated in Shepardstown, VA (Now West Virginia), was complaining about discomfort and pain emitting from the limb he recently had amputated. Not from the stump but from the severed limb itself. The passage is below.


In the old warehouse near the river were many amputations. Boys from twelve to fifteen years of age rendered such assistance as they could. A jolly Confederate soldier, cheerful in spite of a mangled leg, was one of the patients there. His leg had to be finally amputated, and two boys carried the severed member up on the hillside and buried it. They saw the soldier from day-to-day, for he lived through the ordeal, and he complained that the leg that had been amputated and buried was uncomfortable. Of course, the surgeons laughed at such a thing and the boys were incredulous. Nevertheless, the soldier insisted that it hurt him, and to please him the boys disinterred the leg. They found that it was lying in an unnatural state and that a pebble under the toes forced them into a peculiar position. They removed the pebble and straightened out the limb and the soldier declared that he felt immediate relief. (Snyder, p. 1) – "The Shepherdstown Register," September 22, 1921. (SEE, here on civilwarscholars.com the post: Dr. Silas Mitchell's "Phantom Limbs").

 

[chellers]

Not sure if this completely qualifies to belong in this forum area but here goes. While performing an information search for a recent CivilWarTalk Trivia question I came across this bit of information. A Confederate soldier wounded at the Battle of Sharpsburg and being treated in Shepardstown, VA (Now West Virginia), was complaining about discomfort and pain emitting from the limb he recently had amputated. Not from the stump but from the severed limb itself. The passage is below.


In the old warehouse near the river were many amputations. Boys from twelve to fifteen years of age rendered such assistance as they could. A jolly Confederate soldier, cheerful in spite of a mangled leg, was one of the patients there. His leg had to be finally amputated, and two boys carried the severed member up on the hillside and buried it. They saw the soldier from day-to-day, for he lived through the ordeal, and he complained that the leg that had been amputated and buried was uncomfortable. Of course, the surgeons laughed at such a thing and the boys were incredulous. Nevertheless, the soldier insisted that it hurt him, and to please him the boys disinterred the leg. They found that it was lying in an unnatural state and that a pebble under the toes forced them into a peculiar position. They removed the pebble and straightened out the limb and the soldier declared that he felt immediate relief. (Snyder, p. 1) – "The Shepherdstown Register," September 22, 1921. (SEE, here on civilwarscholars.com the post: Dr. Silas Mitchell's "Phantom Limbs").

Phantom pain, or phantom limb pain, was and is not uncommon following the loss of a body part.

Phantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.
Although phantom pain occurs most often in people who've had an arm or leg removed, the disorder may also occur after surgeries to remove other body parts, such as the breast, penis, eye or tongue.
For some people, phantom pain gets better over time without treatment. For others, managing phantom pain can be challenging. You and your doctor can work together to treat phantom pain effectively with medication or other therapies.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/phantom-pain/DS00444

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Since I'm still laughing at the recent thread about another amputee, I won't say anything about Dan Sickles

 

[diane]

This reminds me of a story Dad used to tell about a soldier buddy who lost his leg on Mindanao. Dad visited him at the VA hospital and the buddy said his toes itched. It was driving him crazy because the toes that itched were the ones that were gone!