Surviving the Extremes: A Doctor's Journey to the Limits of Human Endurance by Kenneth Kamler Page B
Authors: Kenneth Kamler
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I asked the sister how long ago they had stopped following my instructions. She said just yesterday, but patients will always say that no matter how long it’s actually been. She had given me precisely the same answer I get all the time from noncompliant patients in New York. The surgery had been two weeks earlier. I wouldn’t have been surprisedif the bandage and splint had come off the next day. When I asked the boy about the bandage and the splint and the antibiotics I had given him, he looked at me blankly.
They had ignored all the advice I had given them. They knew better than I that my instructions, which were what I would have given a patient back home, did not apply here. The Indians believe in seeking cures, from witch doctors or otherwise, but societal pressure prevents them from doting on a wound. The exigencies of the jungle simply do not allow it. That kind of luxury can only exist in societies with much thicker protective barriers. In a small group, in which survival is a full-time job for each member, those unable to pull their own weight cannot be carried for very long without endangering the whole group. Individuals adapting to their environment must also, therefore, adapt to the rules of the group that provides their protection. The harsher the environment, the more stern and unyielding its rules; the group must do what is best for the survival of the species, even at the cost of the individual. The principle of preserving genes, which motivates altruism, also works in reverse to motivate baser instincts. To maintain the gene pool at large, it is sometimes necessary to detach a small portion when it drains a disproportionate amount of resources. In practical terms, an Indian boy has to learn to take care of his injuries himself because the tribe can’t afford to do it for him for very long.
There wasn’t enough light in the hut for me to examine Hermanigildo’s wrist, so we moved out onto the porch, though the light there wasn’t much better; an aluminum pot in the corner held a smoldering fire that was filling the porch with blue smoke. I put on my headlight. Judging by the amount of dirt ground into the palm, the bandage had been off for quite a while, but the wound had healed well. The boy held his hand in a normal posture, not like a wounded paw, and he lifted his wrist readily. Children heal quickly; yet I felt something else was at work here. The need to survive generates a positive force within the body—actual physical changes that intervene to alter the course of a disease or to speed up healing. It’s well known that positive thinking promotes health. People heal faster, live longer. Whatever influences the mind to generate that force—a placebo, religion, will, word of honor, desperate circumstances—the effect is thesame: the ability to recover from injury is improved. It is a crucial adaptation to any extreme environment.
The sutures were ready to come out. Unlike the ant heads that Antonio had put in his finger earlier that day, these would not fall out by themselves. I took out my forceps and scissors to begin work. Then I had an inspiration. I took out the achiote paste left over from this morning when Antonio had insisted I spread some around my ankles. Before removing the sutures, I carefully painted my face with the same red lines Antonio had designed for me. In this setting, at this time, it seemed to fit, though no one reacted outwardly.
The sutures were removed and the wrist was working; it was still a little weak, but there is no Indian word for “rehabilitation therapy,” and anyway, the jungle would provide all the motivation and exercise Hermanigildo needed. I had repaired his broken parts, but I had not made them heal; that he had done himself. I thought there was nothing left to do, but I was wrong. The boy was waiting for the rest of his treatment.
Amazon Indians live in a natural pharmacy, and each tribe has found remedies for the diseases they all face. From
They had ignored all the advice I had given them. They knew better than I that my instructions, which were what I would have given a patient back home, did not apply here. The Indians believe in seeking cures, from witch doctors or otherwise, but societal pressure prevents them from doting on a wound. The exigencies of the jungle simply do not allow it. That kind of luxury can only exist in societies with much thicker protective barriers. In a small group, in which survival is a full-time job for each member, those unable to pull their own weight cannot be carried for very long without endangering the whole group. Individuals adapting to their environment must also, therefore, adapt to the rules of the group that provides their protection. The harsher the environment, the more stern and unyielding its rules; the group must do what is best for the survival of the species, even at the cost of the individual. The principle of preserving genes, which motivates altruism, also works in reverse to motivate baser instincts. To maintain the gene pool at large, it is sometimes necessary to detach a small portion when it drains a disproportionate amount of resources. In practical terms, an Indian boy has to learn to take care of his injuries himself because the tribe can’t afford to do it for him for very long.
There wasn’t enough light in the hut for me to examine Hermanigildo’s wrist, so we moved out onto the porch, though the light there wasn’t much better; an aluminum pot in the corner held a smoldering fire that was filling the porch with blue smoke. I put on my headlight. Judging by the amount of dirt ground into the palm, the bandage had been off for quite a while, but the wound had healed well. The boy held his hand in a normal posture, not like a wounded paw, and he lifted his wrist readily. Children heal quickly; yet I felt something else was at work here. The need to survive generates a positive force within the body—actual physical changes that intervene to alter the course of a disease or to speed up healing. It’s well known that positive thinking promotes health. People heal faster, live longer. Whatever influences the mind to generate that force—a placebo, religion, will, word of honor, desperate circumstances—the effect is thesame: the ability to recover from injury is improved. It is a crucial adaptation to any extreme environment.
The sutures were ready to come out. Unlike the ant heads that Antonio had put in his finger earlier that day, these would not fall out by themselves. I took out my forceps and scissors to begin work. Then I had an inspiration. I took out the achiote paste left over from this morning when Antonio had insisted I spread some around my ankles. Before removing the sutures, I carefully painted my face with the same red lines Antonio had designed for me. In this setting, at this time, it seemed to fit, though no one reacted outwardly.
The sutures were removed and the wrist was working; it was still a little weak, but there is no Indian word for “rehabilitation therapy,” and anyway, the jungle would provide all the motivation and exercise Hermanigildo needed. I had repaired his broken parts, but I had not made them heal; that he had done himself. I thought there was nothing left to do, but I was wrong. The boy was waiting for the rest of his treatment.
Amazon Indians live in a natural pharmacy, and each tribe has found remedies for the diseases they all face. From
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