Amazing
Just when I think my life sucks, I am reminded that it could be worse. I could be trapped in a canyon, pinned between a boulder and the canyon wall, and have to amputate my own arm in order to save my life. Now THAT would be worse than not finding an apartment, being broke, and having a cold sore. That is what happened to Aron Ralston, the star of the TLC documentary I watched last night.
Aron is an avid outdoorsman and adventure-seeking guy, who worked as an engineer for several years before quitting his job and embracing the outdoors fulltime. A little drastic, yes...but at least he loves what he does. While hiking in a canyon in Utah, Aron became trapped in the middle of BFE when an 800 lb. boulder came tumbling toward him, and pinned his right arm against the wall of the canyon, making it impossible for him to move. He was stuck in a standing position, in a space about 2 ft. wide. To make a long story short, he spent 5 nights and 6 days trapped in this position, with only 1 bottle of water and 2 burritos in his backpack. He rationed out portions for the first 3 days, and spent the next 3 without any food or water. The most amazing thing to me is that he remained completely mentally in tact, as he was documenting the whole thing on video. He narrated what was going on, and took time to say goodbye to his friends and family. Just when he was ready to embrace death, he discovered that by torquing his body a certain direction, he could break 2 bones in his arm, and then amputate the dead weight. He amputated his own arm with a POCKET KNIFE. !!!
After the surgery, he still had to escape the canyon, with one arm...that meant finding another way out, since he could not climb the 15 ft. wall in front of him. After making his way out of the canyon, he had to scale down a 6 story cliff, AND walk 7 miles back to his truck. Also, the nearest hospital was a 2 hour drive. Thankfully, a helicopter just happened to be flying above the canyon, located him, and flew him to the nearest hospital. And all of that after 3 days with no food or water, an amputated arm, blood loss, and a shedding of 45 lbs of body weight. WOW.
So....the next time I think that I just can't manage the shittiness of a situation, or the rejection of an audition, or the lack of money in my bank account, I will think of Aron. He is truly amazing.
Aron is an avid outdoorsman and adventure-seeking guy, who worked as an engineer for several years before quitting his job and embracing the outdoors fulltime. A little drastic, yes...but at least he loves what he does. While hiking in a canyon in Utah, Aron became trapped in the middle of BFE when an 800 lb. boulder came tumbling toward him, and pinned his right arm against the wall of the canyon, making it impossible for him to move. He was stuck in a standing position, in a space about 2 ft. wide. To make a long story short, he spent 5 nights and 6 days trapped in this position, with only 1 bottle of water and 2 burritos in his backpack. He rationed out portions for the first 3 days, and spent the next 3 without any food or water. The most amazing thing to me is that he remained completely mentally in tact, as he was documenting the whole thing on video. He narrated what was going on, and took time to say goodbye to his friends and family. Just when he was ready to embrace death, he discovered that by torquing his body a certain direction, he could break 2 bones in his arm, and then amputate the dead weight. He amputated his own arm with a POCKET KNIFE. !!!
After the surgery, he still had to escape the canyon, with one arm...that meant finding another way out, since he could not climb the 15 ft. wall in front of him. After making his way out of the canyon, he had to scale down a 6 story cliff, AND walk 7 miles back to his truck. Also, the nearest hospital was a 2 hour drive. Thankfully, a helicopter just happened to be flying above the canyon, located him, and flew him to the nearest hospital. And all of that after 3 days with no food or water, an amputated arm, blood loss, and a shedding of 45 lbs of body weight. WOW.
So....the next time I think that I just can't manage the shittiness of a situation, or the rejection of an audition, or the lack of money in my bank account, I will think of Aron. He is truly amazing.
posted by Hilary at
6:01 AM
1 Comments:
"I could be trapped in a canyon, pinned between a boulder and the canyon wall, and half to amputate my own arm in order to save my life."
half to amputate your own arm? someone's been at the sfactory!
By
Robert, at 7:35 AM
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