Courage Boys features stories to inspire and leave you feeling hopeful. Making a difference is not only possible, but something we’re all capable of accomplishing. These are the stories of ordinary people making the decision to be extraordinary with bravery, resilience and principle. This is Courage Boys.
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Guinea Pig
No one really understood how passionate Dr. Henry Head was about his questions. They were simple questions, really, but they begged for answers that most people couldn't capably give.
The same scenario kept repeating itself in his office: A recovering patient would sit on his examination table with a limb exposed while the doctor would prod, poke and tickle the affected spot. Asking to describe what they felt, the most he would get was, "a little pressure." It seemed no one could accurately describe the sensation in a way Dr. Head could understand.
In 1903, science already knew that nerves could regenerate, but how fast? And what came back first? Could regeneration be aided? If so, how?
These questions burned in the doctor's mind. Even if he did succeed in finding an unusually eloquent patient, one willing to be a guinea pig, monitoring his progress in realtime over months and years would be next to impossible.
They needed a volunteer. And so the search began for one that would agree to be severed, sewn up, poked and prodded for the next few years. Unsurprisingly, the search proved futile, and the doctors involved considered moving on, letting the research sit still.
Before giving up, a volunteer stepped forward who let them sever the nerves in his left forearm. For the next four years, every miniscule change was recorded and science moved forward. Dr. Head was lauded for the experiment and his breakthroughs.
Sadly, Parkinson's Disease began to take away his speech. Ever the scientist, Dr. Head documented his battle and gave insight as his physical capabilities failed him, leaving only a keen mind.
As he wrote, he thought of the value of that one volunteer who had stepped forward --- it was nearly impossible to forget him. You see, Dr. Head was the one to go first when there was no volunteer for his experiment. He put himself under the knife to find out what was on the other side of pain, earning firsthand answers of which he was 100 percent certain --- and no one could refute.
