A little two-year-old dwarf was helping deconstruct part of my copper tower so that I could widen it. In the process, it seems that somehow there was a cave-in, and my brewer/cook and a child died. That little two-year-old got injured and was barely alive, so the dwarves carried him to one of the rooms in the tower. I turned that room into my first hospital.
When the kid was put on the bed, he had cuts and broken bones on every limb on his body, and even the nervous tissue on his spine was severed. I was certain he would die, just like the other kid did. I started up a thread industry to get the kid some sutures and dressings for his wounds, and I made some gypsum powder so that he could get casts. I built a well in the hospital so the doctor could conveniently get water for the cast, and so that he could wash his hands if necessary. I even built a traction bench for him, though it seems like it was never used.
I did all of this because the construction accident put my fortress on the brink of a tantrum spiral. The mother of the that dead kid went insane. I released all of my dogs from the cages since I didn't have a military to deal with her. Fortunately, she was not a woodcutter or miner, so the dogs took her out, even though I lost about 5 of them. Everybody was depressed. I had been making drinks, and still had no prepared food, and then my only cook died in that accident. I had rooms for only 8 people, even though I had about 35 dwarves. I had no well, no statues, no mist, nothing to make anyone happy. I had to keep the kid alive or I might have lost everything.
Unbelievably, he pulled through, despite the fact that my only doctor was actually just a tanner that I had press-ganged into service as my Chief Medical Dwarf. The kid had three infections and I was pretty certain he would die since I didn't have soap, and I still don't. Gradually, he recovered, and now, two years later, he's four years old and, except for his lower spine, he's in perfect condition. I've expanded the hospital around him and numerous patients have come and gone since he arrived. I have crutches available and waiting, but I understand that apparently these can't be used until a later version of DF comes along.
I'm probably at a point now where it would be safe to kill him without risking a tantrum spiral. However, I've put so much work into saving him at this point that I don't really want to let go. So, does anyone have any advice? Should I cut the life support, or knock him out of his bed and make him crawl or something?
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Topic: How to deal with an injured child (Read 1363 times)