[MR] Follow up report on the combat arrow that hit Istvan Toth (Fwd) (fwd)

[Craig Levin]

Forwarded message:

> July 23, 2003
> 
>             Greetings all.
> 
>             This is a follow up report on the combat arrow that hit Sgt.
> Istvan Toth on June 7th, 2003 at North Oaken War Maneuvers.   I know a lot
> about this since I am Istvan Toth.
> 
>             To sum up...I was standing in the backfield of a bridge battle
> at the latter part of the day.  My best guess is that I was 40 to 50 feet
> from one end of the bridge, at about 45° from one corner.   I am not sure
> how long the bridge was...by the way...if anybody has a different idea of
> these distances please step forward, I was not measuring distance - I was
> watching somebody pull victims off of the bridge with a great axe.

Does anybody have figures on arrow ranges? I know that a Turkish
archer can shoot an arrow literally half a mile, but the Turk is
almost certainly using a bow of a heavier draw weight than a SCA
combat archer. According to the FITA, the record for a 35 lb
target recurve is more than three hundred yards-see:

http://www.archery-fita.org/world_records/flight_records/flight_men.html

So it's not unbelievable that an arrow could easily zoom more
than 200 feet to hit a target.

>             I was not wearing my helm as I was in the process of quitting
> the field and thought I was at a safe distance.
> 
>             According to Eric Ericson the Scout, the arrow that hit me
> missed all intervening participants and struck me square in the right eye.
> I was checked by Eric Ericson (who is also an EMT basic) on site.  Then I
> was taken to the Cleveland Medical Center where a CAT scan showed a
> fracture to the right orbit floor (below the eye, also called a "blowout")
> and of the maxillary sinus with much nasty swelling and soft tissue
> damage.

He's lucky. The poor French guys at Agincourt got worse from
similar ranges.

>             On June 12, 2003 I saw an ENT (Dr. Agostino) the delay being
> that the swelling had to go down to a point where an examination could be
> done.   Other than the bones healing perhaps 1/8" off things looked good and
> I could have had surgery for that had I wished but I preferred not to if it
> was not absolutely necessary.    Dr. Agostino and later Dr. Gabrielle,
> Ophthalmologist, (seen on June 24th)  both said that if any blurring of
> vision or other vision irregularities showed up, to immediately have myself
> seen.   They said the bones should heal in about 6 weeks.  The
> ophthalmologist saw no obvious retinal damage at the time.
> 
>             On July 12 I attended Warriors & Warlords.  The concern was an
> aggravation of the fractures.   I experienced no ill effects and fought very
> well.

I wonder-did he bring up that one of his hobbies was SCA heavy
fighting, which does involve blows to the head?

<later complications cut>

> 
>             Did my fighting at Warriors and Warlords cause this?  I think
> that, at most, it accelerated it.   Apparently a little bleeding in the eye
> from an injury can be absorbed by the eye, but a lot of bleeding causes
> problems that can eventually lead to retinal detachment.  After the injury
> I had a lot of blood in my eye.   Whether I fought at Warriors and Warlords
> or two weeks later at Simple Day, or at Pennsic, the retinal detachment
> would have happened sooner or later as a result of the original impact
> injury.

Perhaps yes, perhaps no. If he gave his eye more time to heal,
it's possible that the fluid buildup would have time to drain.

>             The power and construction of combat arrows has increased
> greatly to get people to acknowledge them, but they are blunts and it will
> always be a problem - that is why real arrows have points!  Arrows were used
> in real war to really kill - not in the tournament style melee that we do.
> This could have happened to any marshal or non-combatant near the field
> (non-combatant could be a royal observer, you know).
>
>             If I can fight again I will steer clear of the melee field for a
> long time - and nothing at the size or level of Pennsic, and never with
> combat archery.   It adds nothing to the game for me and may cost me a lot.

I am sorry to hear of his wounds, as I am of anyone who is
injured. However, as I am a stranger to his kingdom and his
kingdom's combat customs, I can only ask:

1) Is it customary to take off one's helm before one leaves the
list, if there's combat archery?

2) Was a hold called, which would mean that shooting stopped? Or
was combat still going on?

3) Can erics be set up in such a fashion that allows for the free
play of the archers' capabilities and still allow people to enjoy
the spectacle?

Pedro