Divine Intervention: Part 2
But They Needed Harry!
Rick, John and the American Special Ops Team— known for their organizational skills— worked to finalizing their “still impossible” plan. They needed a team of divers that they trusted to help with the cave rescue.
“Any problem encountered on a dive must be considered calmly with a clear head. As soon as panic sets in, a diver is doomed.” —Rick Stanton, Aquanaut
“Panic is a powerful human reflex, nearly impossible to control.” —Dr. Richard Harris
The British divers would not undertake such a dangerous rescue unless they could prevent the boys from panicking underwater. Panic could easily kill the boy and most likely, the rescue diver as well. They needed Harry.
Dr. Richard Harris is an Australian anesthetist and an elite technical cave diver. He is better known as Harry. ”Obviously, it's a very worthy cause and I was quite keen to get over there…I was showing, perhaps, a bit too much enthusiasm…I knew I had to help.
”When Rick asked about sedating the boys to help get them out of the cave, I was very clear, very emphatic: It's absolutely impossible, don't even consider it! How can you possibly render someone unconscious and then immerse them for three hours in water. It's just inconceivable!…they could drown inside their mask…they will slowly succumb to hypothermia…their head will fall forward and obstruct their airway…
“I’m still happy to come and give you a hand but you better come up with a better plan.
“Rick said, ‘You're likely to swim to the end of the cave…see these kids…all looking healthy and happy and smiley. Then you’re going to swim away and they’re probably all going to die. Don't underestimate how unpleasant that's going to be.’
“Rick kept raising this novel idea of sedating the boys…reminding me: we weren’t hunting for the perfect solution, only the best one.
“What changed? Through a process of elimination, realizing there was no alternative. All the other options, all slowly fell away. We either leave these children in the cave to die a very protracted and unpleasant death or we give this a try.
“I had zero confidence that it was going to work. It crossed my mind that I would be euthanizing these boys. I guess the only way I could proceed was the thought that if they're going to die anyway at least they'll be asleep when it happens. I know that's pretty poor justification for a plan but that's what it came down to… maybe there's a glimmer of hope, but I honestly didn't believe it could work.” —Dr. Richard Harris
Rick said he felt like his whole life (as a firefighter and cave diver) was preparing him for this particular moment. The same can be said of Harry. “I have worked in environments where I have administered anesthesia to people in in less than perfect conditions…in remote areas…helicopter rescue services, where you might be at the roadside in a ditch administering those sorts of critical care procedures to very sick or injured patients, so (working in a cave) didn't worry me.
”About six years after I became a consultant anesthetist, I went to work for two years in Vanuatu where I was presented with a newborn baby with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. As a non-specialist pediatric anesthetist, I had considerable reservations about getting involved with this case. The surgeon said to me, ‘Harry, if you don't have a go at this, then this child will die. If we do nothing, the child won't survive. It's down to you, me and the nursing staff to give this a try.’ We did and the child survived.”
—Dr. Richard Harris
“The face masks were probably the single most important thing, aside from Harry’s sedation, that allowed this plan to be successful…using full-face, positive-pressure masks…the air, constantly supplied, kept the water out… but it wasn’t risk-free… We were pleased that the extra buoyancy created by this mask had the added benefit of keeping his head lifted up and back, so the airway wouldn’t be compromised. They weren’t going to be intubated, but this performed a similar function.”
—Rick Stanton, Aquanaut
The boys would be supplied with oxygen tanks the entire way out of the cave. After their 3-hour dive, the British rescuers handed each child to the international crew responsible for the final, hour-long trek over land out of the cave. “The masks would not be open to ambient air, so once the tank was empty that would be it… I remember thanking God that Jason, the diver assigned to bring the first boy out said, ‘Hey, double check the air tank.’ It turned out, it was almost empty, like down to less than few minutes of air.”
—Derek Anderson, Master Sargent, US Special Ops
Dr. Harris was told that he might end up in the Thai judicial system —”you mean I’d end up in a Bangkok jail?” — if any of the soccer boys died, a scenario his wife said could ruin his medical career. Yet he selflessly responded, “I couldn’t process that information. I had a job to do and that was all that I could focus on at the time.”
“Human nature tends to shy away from what is difficult; but if you rise to the challenge you are bringing forth the heroic qualities of the soul. Courage is the positive energy you release by the way you meet life’s experiences” —Sri Daya Mata
Divine Intervention Part 3: A Rock Climber and A Water Magician
By detailing how intensely complicated and perilous the rescue was — the enormous pressure and fatigue, the cave’s dark, unsanitary conditions, contaminated gas in the air tanks, a less than 80% survival rate for the boys, the possibility of being electrocuted by the underwater electrical lines running the water pumps, the ever-present threat of heavy monsoon rain, head-banging stalactites, etc. — the following support, although unintentionally, the presence of Divine Intervention. They also give a very clear picture of the selflessness of all the volunteers.
—Rick Stanton
Aquanaut: A Life Beneath the Surface; The Inside Story of the Thai Cave Rescue
—John Volanthen
Thirteen Lessons That Saved Thirteen Lives: The Thai Cave Rescue
—Craig Challen and Richard Harris
Against All Odds: The Inside Account of the Thai Cave Rescue
—Matt Gutman
The Boys In The Cave: Deep Inside The Impossible Rescue In Thailand
—YouTube interviews and podcasts.
Peace Affirming Prayer
Peace fills my mind and flows through all my thoughts.
Peace fills my heart and flows through all my love.
Peace fills my soul and goodwill flows to all.
Peace fills my being and permeates all my activities.
Peace within. Peace without. Peace everywhere.
Peace in my mind. Peace in my heart. Peace in my soul.
Peace in me. Peace in my home. Peace in my country. Peace in my world.
Peace everywhere.
Amen.
Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.
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