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In a message dated 2/11/2004 9:16:28 PM US Mountain Standard Time, evanhoe2@korean-war.com writes:
As for the ethics of taking off a limb to save a life, that decision was On 22 February 1951 I ended up in the 4th Field Hospital with a bad case of frostbite of the hands. A doctor gave me an exam and then informed me that it may be necessary to remove my finger tips. I explained to him that I was not in favor of that and was there something else that could be tried. I was only a PFC and he was a Capt., but I talked to him as his patient to his doctor.
He then informed me he was working on a new treatment for frostbite and would I agree to this treatment? I agreed and for 7 days, every 4 hours I was given a bottle of some liquid via the vein. About the 3rd day, the nurse started to run out of a good vein for the fluid, but I told her to do her best as to getting a spot. After 7 days, my fingers were back to normal and I was sent back to the front. I still suffer due to the effects of the frostbite, but I was able to lead a normal life without difficulty. In the winter time, my fingers start to dry out, crack open as well as peel like a snake shedding its skin. This only last for a short time as I load them with hand cream.
John Sonley Korea 1951
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