Atlantic article on Lincoln's survival

[RJNorton]

Rob, in addition to Blaine, I also hope wsanto (Dr. Bill Carnevali) chimes in.

Here's what Dr. Lattimer wrote about this topic: "There seems to be no reason to disagree with those who have stated that Lincoln could not possibly have survived this wound, even in modern times, and that, indeed, it is remarkable that he survived for nine hours, as he did, after the shooting. Even if he had survived, he most certainly would have been a decerebrate 'vegetable'; a cruel transformation from the sensitive, compassionate, and thoughtful chief of state which he had been."

Last year Blaine was kind enough to send me information on a 2009 University of Maryland Shock Trauma conference in which doctors discussed/debated Lincoln's condition. One doctor said, "If Dr. Scalea's team had had access to Lincoln at the time of the assassination, the President might well have survived, albeit with right-sided hemiplegia and homonymous hemianopsia, along with persistent dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dysphasia."