In the second season of the television show Little House on the Prairie, in the episode A Matter of Faith, Caroline suffers a cut on her leg that doesn’t heal and then becomes infected. She was home alone during this time and became seriously ill due to the infection, something that was a serious risk during the time period the show is set in.
Caroline is reading the bible to try and heal herself and the audience is left to think she feels the only way to survive is by actually cutting off her leg. But she actually is lancing her leg in order to remove the infection and try and heal the wound.
After her family returns, Doc Baker treats her and she survives the infection without losing her leg.
Note: this incident only happens in the television show. There is no evidence this was based on a real life incident in the real life of Caroline Ingalls.
