I'm completely hooked on this show.

It's completely fascinating and, given that I don't know what it would actually be like to be stranded on a deserted (hmmm?) island, I have to think it's fairly realistic.

Except for last night. If you didn't see it, I won't spoil it for you and will put my ruminations after the jump. Ok, so what's the deal with Charlie coming back to life after being hanged?

Now, it's not so much that he was revived that I'm having issues with, it's that he was able to talk---in his normal voice---after hanging from a rope for God only knows how long.

He shouldn't have been able to breathe normally, let alone talk. The tissues in anyone's throat are very sensitive to any sort of damage. My voice has changed simply from smoking. I can't imagine what someone who's experienced a long drop from a short rope would sound like---if they managed to survive the whole neck breaking thing in the first place.

When Jack tried to revive Charlie, the thought that was racing through my head was Tracheotomy! Tracheotomy! Slit that windpipe open and put a ball point pen to use, my friend!! But, no. Slamming repeatedly on Charlie's chest was apparently enough to get him to the breathing stage, and then, miraculously, he was able to get enough wind into his lungs simply by inhaling. The tissues in Charlie's throat should have been swollen beyond recognition; he wouldn't have been able to get any air in through his trachea because of said swelling. Even if Jack could have gotten Charlie's heart beating, that would have been secondary to clearing a path for air.

But apparently the path was just fine.

Hmmmm. Doesn't make sense, and perhaps I'm being overly picky because it is a TV show. But still...this appears to be one thing a doctor should have known, and yet the doctor didn't.

(And in case you're wondering how I know so much about the medical aftereffects of hanging, go buy this novel. There's a hanging scene in it that's on par with the drowning description in A Perfect Storm. I've met the author and her protagonist is a doctor who is the primary care physician for the hanging victim. Diana researched hanging effects, like everything else she writes, quite thoroughly. I also know she didn't exaggerate, either, because she told me (and a few other people) as much when we met with her. She said, quite simply, that she didn't have to exaggerate it; that there was rarely anything worse than surviving a hanging.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:10 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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