Rescue Missions

There is no greater feeling than hanging out with my dogs ~

or just walk around the land with my horses.

My 'Rescue Ranch' is where I feel the most at peace ~

where I'm reminded of the simple things in life ~

and let the chaos of my crazy life fade away, declared Kelly Clarkson.

Anesthesiology and the Thai Cave Rescue

The following are excerpts from an essay written by Yvgeniy Oparin,

a second-year medical student at McMaster University ~

winning first prize at the 2019 Canadian Anesthesiologists' Society Student Essay Contest.

“Last summer, the world watched as 12 boys and their assistant coach became trapped inside of Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand. The journey to reach the boys and back, could take up to 11 hours, even for experienced divers. With monsoon rains forecasted...water levels rising...and oxygen levels in the cave dropping, the rescue mission had to act quickly.

Anesthesiologist and cave diving specialist, Dr.Richard Harris,

played a pivotal role in the rescue.

It involved sedating the boys with medications and carrying them through

the flooded cave for hours.

Dr. Harris mirrored what anesthesiologists do in the operating room every day.

“On June 23, the soccer team and their coach, set out to go cave-exploriing after practice. The boys entered the cave, but monsoon rains flooded the entrance and trapped them inside. The boys would only be found 9 days later ~ 4 kilometres from the entrance ~ hungry and cold, As monsoon rain poured down, water levels continuted to rise ~ and oxygen levels in the cave dropped to dangerous levels. The rescuers attempted to teach the boys basic diving skills, but they were too weak.

Anesthesiologists always have a plan A...plan B...plan C.

For various medical reasons, these plans would not apply.

Diving for the boys ~ and rescuing them under sedation was the only option left.

Dr.Harris used an anxiety medication.

To breathe, the boys wore full face masks delivering high-concentration oxygen.

However, Dr.Harris was not solely responsible for the success of the rescue.

By some estimates, more than 10,000 personnel were involved ~

including over 100 divers from around the world.

“ Although, the monsoon flooded caves of Thailand are a far cry from the operating room ~

what Dr. Harris did is what anesthesiologists do ever day.”

A black and white photo depicted:a group of Royal Thai Navy divers

in the Tham Luang cave during rescue operations in Chiang Rai, Thailand in 2018.

“A Bird in theHand...

“I know a lot about fledgling robins now,” wrote Lorraine Sommerfeld.”

“A couple of weeks ago,I spied a little round brown ball of bird in the grass. My first instinct was that it was dead; birds belong in nests...or in the sky...or in trees, not nestled in my lawn. It moved a little.

I called Animal Control ~ and a patient woman explained

that birds boot fledglings out of the nest...they land on the ground...

then spend the next 2 weeks learning to fly.

My neighbourhood (having coyotes and cats and skunks and raccoons), I put a square-trellis thing over the bird to protect it. An adult robin immediately perched on the top and screeched at me. The lady on the phone further advised, “The parents will protect and feed the baby ~ but altimately, it was part of the circle of life. Now I wondered if I should take a lesson in child-rearing from the robins.

I hunched down beside my little dude. He was asleep.

I chuckled and he instantly flipped open his beak...gaping at me and he tweeped.

I got a worm ~ and as I dropped it, he closed his mouth and looked at me like I was the one who screwed up, I got another worm, and he ate it. Feeling like I was well on my way to a doctorate in avian studies, I went lookng for more worms. When I returned, he'd hopped a few feet ~ so I moved the trellis again. From the house, I watched a pair of robins feed him and keep watch.When it got dark, I went out with a flashlight to check on him. I woke him up...felt bad...and got him another worm.

Next morning, there he was beside a little rock. Mama chirped.

And this little ball of feathers, flapped his wings a little, reaching the top of the rock.

Certainly, he was not a hang-glider ~ but I was bursting with pride.

There's a bunch of robins flitting about today ~ I've decided one of them is my little buddy!

Puppy Lost in Crash Found 3 Days Later

A recently adopted puppy that disappeared after her owner crashed in Arizona, survived 13 days in the mountains and has been reunited with her owner. Volunteers found Bella, a 4-month-old mixed yellow lab, almost 2 weeks after the driver, Michael Crocker, was air-lifted to hospital after he rolled his SUV off the the historic Route 66 in Flagstaff. The whimpering pup was found, not far from the crash site.

(The foregoing published inThe Associated Press)

Newborn Rescued from Bag in Forest

A Georgia sherriff released a dramatic body-cam video Tuesday, showing the rescue of a newborn girl who was found alive inside a plastic bag in the woods.The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office made the video public in hopes that it will generate credible tips in the case. Authorities have been searching for the baby's mother since June 6, when a family in a nearby home heard crying in the woods

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When the World Looks On ~ and Prays

(The following are excerpts fom an article I published spring of 2014.)

So heart-rending...such a calamity...such a tragedy...so disastrous!

“In January & February (several years ago) I visited Chile with my 4-year-old son, to meet with my husband's family living in Santiago, Chilan and Temuco. Building specifications must be adhered to when building construction takes place due to the Andes Mountains, the mighty blue Pacific and location of the Atacama Desert where the mines are. So, it was of prime concern to me when this tragedy occurred. Many of you readers, may have forgotten this news that shook the world.

All 33 Chilean Miners Rescued!

(published by CBC News October 12, 2010)

“Celebrations erupted Wednesday night as the last of 33 miners trapped in a Chilean mine for more than 2 months was rescued. The last to emerge from the Phoenix rescue capsule was shift foreman, Luis Uzrua, whose leadership was credited with helping the men endure the initial 17 days after the August 5^th collapse, during which they had no outside contact.

“We have done what the entire world has been waiting for,”

Urzua said to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera after the rescue.

“The 70 days that we fought so hard, were not in vain. We had strength; we had spirit!”

The miners survived more time underground than anyone on record

and the world was captured by their endurance.

Author: Merle Baird-Kerr...written June 27, 2019

To respond: mbairdkerr@bell.net