Someday, death will come knocking on one's door. Many believe that when that time comes there is virtually nothing one can do except by divine providence of course. However, some individuals have proven that such a time may not necessarily be the last. They proved that a little effort could be the difference between leaving this world now or living for many more years to come. Read the stories of daring individuals who refused to succumb to death. Instead they did the unthinkable in order to survive.
1. Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov
Leonid was born in Russia on March 14, 1934. He studied to be a general medical practitioner in 1959 and later trained to be a surgeon but had to interrupt his training to join the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition as a doctor in 1960. While he was there he fell ill and was diagnosed of Peritonitis in 1961. Being that the research station was quite far from the nearest one by more than 1,600km [that is like travelling from Lagos to Maduiguri] and there was no aircraft in that station neither was there any that could fly in as a result of bad weather conditions; Leonid had no choice but to do the impossible. He operated on himself [Abdominal self-surgery is a very rare form of surgery]. He was assisted by a driver and a meteorologist who helped with handing him instruments and holding a mirror. The surgery lasted almost 2 hours with him having short breaks in between; and two weeks after his self-surgery he was back to his regular duties. He lived to 66 years.
2. Ines Ramires Perez
A Mexican woman by name Ines Perez resulted to performing a Caesarean section on herself when she could no longer endure the 12-hour pain she felt. On the midnight of March 5, 2000 she sat on a bench, drank 3 shots of a strong alcholic drink then used a kitchen knife to cut open her stomach. After about an hour she reached inside her uterus and pulled out her baby boy. She proceeded to cut off the umbilical cord with a scissors before becoming unconscious. After she regained consciousness, she used clothes to wrap her wound and sent one of her sons to get help. Help from the local health authority came several hours later. Her wound was sewn with a needle and thread before she was taken to a local clinic and then to a hospital from where she underwent other operations to repair complications arising from her self-surgery. Both mother and child survived. She was very lucky not to have had any infection, shock or bled to death especially during the period of her unconsciousness.
3. Jerri Nielsen
Born in 1952, Jerri was an American physician who was on a one year contract to serve as a doctor at the Amundsen-Scott Pole Station on Antarctica in 1998. During the winter periods this region is known for its very low temperatures (-60 degree Celsius) and six months of darkness which makes it almost inaccessible to the rest of the world. It was at such a period that she discovered a lump in her breast. She consulted with US physicians via email and video conference on the issue and resulted to performing a Biopsy. However, the result was inconclusive as the materials used was outdated. Arrangements were made to get supplies and medication to her and she was able to perform another biopsy where it was confirmed that the cells were cancerous. Despite how risky it was to fly in such a weather, a plane was sent to pick her up. She was taken to US where she received adequate treatment. Sadly, the cancer went into remission only to resurface 7 years later as a brain metastatic disease. She died in 2009.
4. Aron Lee Ralston
Born in October 27, 1975, Aron Lee was involved in an accident while on a hiking trip all by himself. While descending through a narrow canyon, a boulder got dislodged and pinned his right hand to the canyon wall; crushing it in the process. He spent the first 5 days managing the food and water he had while trying to free himself. His water finished after day 5. He was forced to drink his urine. After efforts to free himself proved futile and being dehydrated and delirious he resulted to surviving at all cost. He proceeded to amputate his arm. He did so by breaking off his radius and ulna bones using torque after which he amputated his arm using a blunt knife and some other tools. It took one hour to do so. After doing that, he got out of the canyon and went to look for help. He was rescued six hours later. His inspiring story led to the making of the movie 127 hours (2010). Lee still continues to climb mountains.
5. Bill Jeracki
While fishing at a lake near St. Mary's Glacier in Colorado, a boulder landed on his leg and pinned it to the ground. Out there all alone and without a jacket he knew he would not last the night as the weather was going to get worse. Using a tourniquet to clamp below his knee, he used his pocket knife to cut off the lower part of his leg. After he was freed, he crawled to his vehicle then drove off to get help. Though he lost lots of blood he did not go into shock. He survived.
No comments:
Post a Comment