Those who remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail can recall a famous scene in which the Black Knight tenaciously denied King Arthur passage across a bridge and lost all his limbs in the process.
"Now stand aside, worthy adversary," the King told the Knight.
With blood spurting out from his severed arm, the Knight dismissed the injury as "just a scratch," and continued on with their combat.
terry gilliam film GIFGiphy
In many cases of injury, adrenaline kicks in and the shock of what happened sometimes overtakes feeling the pain.
Being numb from what can be unbearably excruciating convinces many injured people – like our valiant Knight – to keep on keeping on, even though all his limbs have been lopped off.
Wondering about the kinds of physical trauma people have played down, Redditor Madameknitsalot asked:
What's your, "Tis but a scratch!" moment?
Collapsed Lung
"I am a bartender in a nightclub. One night while working I was pouring a drink while I reached back with my other hand to open a fridge, and that's when I heard a 'pop' and got a huge pain in my back/shoulder area. the pain was pretty bad, but I was sure it was a pulled muscle and there wouldnt be much point in seeing a doctor other than getting meds. So I waited. fought through the pain which was so bad at times it was making it hard to breath."
"that was a Friday, i called off Saturday and had Sunday monday Tuesday off before I went back to work wednesday, once I biked into work. in all I waited 9 days total before finally deciding to go to the ER."
"I had a collapsed lung. called a spontaneous pneumothorax. 20 min after getting to the er I was put into emergency surgery. I was essentially breathing with only one lung. and any major impact To my chest would have collapsed the other and probably killed me."
Not The 'Rona
"Happened to me when I was in school just 3 months ago. I suddenly started not being able to breathe but I was like 'I am sure its nothing' when I got home I actually slept for 3 hours but woke up from the pain. Me and my family thought it was corona so we went to a hospital. I was quite shocked to learn I had a collapsed lung. But the worst part wasnt the lung, it was the operation and the aftermath. Having a tube inside you for a week hurts like hell. Havent slept for 5 days during my stay there."
– Janhan_
Hit By A Car
"I got hit by a car my freshman year of high school. I went flying lost consciousness for a split second when I hit the ground (thank god for helmet). When I came to people were all around me asking if I was ok, and what happened etc. I was like 'oh yea, I'm good. I'm gonna just get back on my bike and go now.' But didn't really move. Then people started asking me to call an ambulance and my mom etc. I was like 'why? I'm good.' I even told my mom on the phone I was still gonna bike home.but as I was saying that, the people around me had started to move one of my legs and I watched as my foot proceeded to NOT move. I had broken both bones in my leg completely in half and part of ankle.
"Just pure adrenaline and shock. I also vividly remember thinking 'huh this is what it feels like to get hit by a car'. Also the leg wasn't setting right (probably from movement) and the doctor decided to put me on laughing gas as he tried to crack my bones back into place. Was in a stupor laughing as I felt my bones grind."
Ant Bites
"A couple weeks ago, I stepped on an ant hill and got a bunch of ant bites on my ankles. 3-4 days later, the itching was unbearable. I wasn't sleeping, my legs were swollen, and no amount of benadryl or antihistamine cream was helping the itching. I finally went to a clinic to get a shot or whatever, because I clearly having some sort of allergic reaction. It was a staph infection that had spread from my ankles up to my knees. I would have died if this 1920 instead of 2020. I was on antibiotics for 10 days, and now several weeks later, the dead skin from the infection is still flaking off."
– level 1onzie9
Effects Of Shock
"I got hit by a car while riding my bicycle,flew through the air, bounced off his windshield breaking his windshield, my helmet and two vertebrae. Then thrown to the ground where my kneecap shattered and bone was sticking out of the skin. And as I lay there in shock (unaware of how badly I was injured) I thought 'I might be able to get back on my bike and ride home.'"
The Thing About Extreme ADHD
"So, it's fascinating."
"People with ADHD make *excellent* positions in triage / handling emergencies. I explain to others that it's like our brains are always underclocked, starving for stimulant, and nothing can maintain our interest for long because we burn through the unique information too quickly. Our brains are constantly seeking that 'high' of the thrill of unique experience, just to maintain operations and survive."
"It's why there's the oxymoron of 'hyperfocus...' I can sit and study something for hours, figuring out some new game's mechanics and min/maxing my build... because it's giving me what I need. I wish to heck I could control what I hyperfocused on. ADHD meds takes away my hyperfocus, but it at least allows me to (usually) work on what pays the bills... even if I'm at a quarter of the ability as when I'm hyperfocused."
"During an emergency, I am suddenly operating at 'normal' operations. Information is flowing in fast and hard, the brain's on a spike of natural stimulant, and I am more rational and clear-headed than anyone around me."
"Having jobs that constantly vary what I'm working on, dealing with high-priority customers that have an emergency, working on problems that require a unique solution and have strong time pressures... these are where I thrive."
Not Finished Playing
"I broke my neck on a huge shorebreak wave and didn't want to leave the beach so I continued swimming and playing volleyball until my friends noticed my neck was swelling up bigger than my head."
Getting To First Base
"Back in my baseball days, when I was pitching. I completely lost a pitch, and it beaned a guy in the jaw. He throws his bat down, glares at me with the glariest of glares ever glared, SPITS OUT BLOOD, then calmly runs to first base as though nothing happened."
"It was terrifyingly bada**."
