The Failed Amputation

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

This flow follows Dorrigo Evans and his team as they attempt to save Jack Rainbow with improvised surgery and confront the limits of skill without supplies.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Gangrene Returns Gangrene Returns from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Wound Reopens A Familiar Patient Jack Rainbow is brought to the ulcer hut with fresh bleeding and advanced gangrene at the remains of his leg.

Gangrene Returns from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Wound Reopens A Familiar Patient Jack Rainbow is brought to the ulcer hut with fresh bleeding and advanced gangrene at the remains of his leg.

A Wound Reopens A Familiar Patient Jack Rainbow is brought to the ulcer hut with fresh bleeding and advanced gangrene at the remains of his leg. Earlier amputations have not stopped the infection. No Proper Equipment Dorrigo Evans has no tourniquet or modern theatre supplies. The condition demands action even though the means to act safely are absent.

The Bent Spoon Plan The Bent Spoon Plan from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". An Improvised Technique A Chance to Control Bleeding Squizzy Taylor proposes pressing a bent spoon against the femoral artery while Dorrigo amputates.

The Bent Spoon Plan from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". An Improvised Technique A Chance to Control Bleeding Squizzy Taylor proposes pressing a bent spoon against the femoral artery while Dorrigo amputates.

An Improvised Technique A Chance to Control Bleeding Squizzy Taylor proposes pressing a bent spoon against the femoral artery while Dorrigo amputates. Their plan depends on pressure, speed, and uncertain materials. Decision Under Risk Dorrigo knows the operation may kill Jack, but leaving the gangrene untreated will also kill him. The team proceeds because no other option offers even a narrow chance.

A Brief Success A Brief Success from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". Work Against Time The Amputation The team uses a kitchen saw, improvised ligatures, and a torch.

A Brief Success from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". Work Against Time The Amputation The team uses a kitchen saw, improvised ligatures, and a torch.

Work Against Time The Amputation The team uses a kitchen saw, improvised ligatures, and a torch. Dorrigo removes the infected tissue and manages to sew the femoral artery. Hope Returns For a moment the bleeding stops, and Dorrigo believes Jack Rainbow may survive. The apparent success offers the staff a brief release from helplessness.

The Artery Gives Way The Artery Gives Way from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Second Crisis Bleeding Resumes Blood begins to seep through the wound and then pours from it.

The Artery Gives Way from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". A Second Crisis Bleeding Resumes Blood begins to seep through the wound and then pours from it.

A Second Crisis Bleeding Resumes Blood begins to seep through the wound and then pours from it. The ligatures have failed, while the available light and surgical materials are nearly exhausted. Skill Reaches Its Limit Dorrigo and his colleagues reopen the wound and try again. The operation becomes a struggle to find tissue that can hold a stitch.

A Death Dorrigo Cannot Stop A Death Dorrigo Cannot Stop from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Patient Dies A Final Attempt Dorrigo Evans finally finds the artery and works carefully, but Jack Rainbow has already been dead for minutes.

A Death Dorrigo Cannot Stop from "The Narrow Road to the Deep North". The Patient Dies A Final Attempt Dorrigo Evans finally finds the artery and works carefully, but Jack Rainbow has already been dead for minutes.

The Patient Dies A Final Attempt Dorrigo Evans finally finds the artery and works carefully, but Jack Rainbow has already been dead for minutes. No one knows how to tell him. An Unfinished Grief The surgeon’s effort is neither useless nor sufficient: he tried everything he could, but the camp’s scarcity made a survivable outcome unreachable. The failure stays with him.

During the monsoon, several weeks after Jack Rainbow’s earlier amputation

Immediately before the final operation

During the first stage of the operation, in the camp operating hut

Minutes after the first closure of the wound

At the end of the operation, in the darkness of the hut