quote:
Originally posted by vaccination
Girl: "If he(Steve) had got the tail thing out quicker he would have lived!"
Actually, I suspect the opposite -- he would've been more likely to live had he left it alone and not got it out.
While I haven't seen anything conclusive on the cause of death, it has been claimed repeatedly his heart was penetrated. In that circumstance, the thing to do is to leave the penetrating object in place -- as removal would result in spectacular bleeding and cardiac tamponade. This is a much more immediate risk than the effects of stigray venom; if this is what the situation was, leaving the barb in place could have bought enough time to get him to a properly equipped medical facility.
So, keep this in mind -- if you get stabbed in the heart area and you are still alive enough to contemplate it, leave the object where it is. If it hasn't killed you yet, you probably have more time if you don't screw with it than you will if you do.