Lew Powell's Frostbitten Feet

[MaddieM]

(08-23-2012 01:14 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I agree, Maddie. I think that the hooding was just that - an effort to dehumanize these poor folk and more or less "break them down".... poor Lew, as "battle hardened" as he was, was still just a kid - and it had devastating affects on him, not just emotionally and psychologically, but probably physically as well. This was more or less, I feel, why the poor boy was so constipated.

Stress is one of the major causes of constipation. Ongoing stress and anxiety suppress the gastrocolic reflex an unconscious action by the gastrointestinal tract. The whole system shuts down. Wouldn't you have hoped that the so called doctors of the day, would have known that this was the physical expression of this boy's stress and anxiety? I'm amazed that also, they deduced that he was dull witted and below average intelligence. It was pretty obvious, he was smart enough to pull the wool over top authority on mental health at that time. Even more reason to admire him.

There was so called evidence also of his having eaten 'hearty meals' etc. The photo of him swinging on the scaffold clearly shows his ribs. In the month or so between capture and execution, he must have dropped some weight. Again, stress can cause weight loss. When you spend that many days not having a bowel movement, the last you might want is a meal!

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(08-23-2012 01:14 PM)BettyO Wrote:  I agree, Maddie. I think that the hooding was just that - an effort to dehumanize these poor folk and more or less "break them down".... poor Lew, as "battle hardened" as he was, was still just a kid - and it had devastating affects on him, not just emotionally and psychologically, but probably physically as well. This was more or less, I feel, why the poor boy was so constipated.

Didn't those hoods have padding over the eye area? Even worse! That would have kept the eyelids forced shut for duration. How bad is that?