Do you remember Aaron Ralston? Aaron is the guy who was doing some hiking and rock climbing in the Utah desert when a rock he was climbing over came loose pinning his right arm against a cliff wall. Once pinned, Aaron was hopelessly trapped in a standing position without shelter, adequate clothing, food or water. For six days Aaron struggled to free himself by chipping away at the boulder with a cheap utility tool, rigging a series of pulleys and other desperate and futile attempts to find his freedom. No one knew where Aaron was during his ordeal and over the course of the long sleepless days and nights; Aaron came to the realization he was going to die.

Aaron literally hit rock bottom and when he did he found inspiration. Aaron decided to cut off his own arm! First he had to bend his arm in grotesque positions to provide enough torque to snap the bones, not once but twice. Once this chore was accomplished, Aaron rigged a tourniquet and went to work using a dull knife. It took over an hour to slowly cut through the arm, spending the most time on the ligaments because of their flexibility and strength. Imagine trying to cut your own arm off with what amounted to a butter knife and you are starting to get an idea of what he went through. Aaron