Althouse: Beautiful video of a woman rescued after 6 days.

January 19, 2010

Beautiful video of a woman rescued after 6 days.

35 comments:

Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Did you think you would live?

Live?

Yes...

Why Not?

wv - resting; 1/19/10, 12:57 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: That's... really amazing.; 1/19/10, 12:58 PM
Roger J. said...: these videos and stories always emerge after a tragic event like an earthquake. At the risk of ruining the narrative the sad thing is that victims who are buried (and are crushed) invariably die within hours after rescue--crush syndrome is the killer, and unless the victim receives sophisticated intubation and IV fluid prior to extration the victim will succumb.

Crushing the body means the normal circulation system fails to function properly and toxins build up at the crush site--when the pressure is relieve absent intervention, those toxins flood the circulatory and lymph system overwhelming the kidneys and liver.

For victims of crushing, they have to be extracted within 24 hours, not the "golden 72" normally associated with emergency response.

I can only hope that there was no crushing involved for this victim and she had enough room to move and keep her circulation system intact.; 1/19/10, 1:05 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: As you can see in the video.. Bush still hates black people ;); 1/19/10, 1:30 PM
Kylos said...: Roger, it seems only her hand was pinned. Would that disrupt circulation enough to cause the buildup of toxins?; 1/19/10, 1:45 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: That's an awesome report. The husband hopelessly but furiously scrapping and the woman singing blew me away.; 1/19/10, 1:48 PM
Joan said...: Lem, that exact quote leapt out at me, too.

That was truly a beautiful video. Thank you for posting it, Professor.; 1/19/10, 2:06 PM
Roger J. said...: Kylos--probably not although she might lose her hand

I really didnt mean to sound so macabre about crush syndrome--it points to the need to 1) get victims out ASAP and 2) have trained paramedics during digging out operations

I do hope the lady survives--as i hope every victim survives--; 1/19/10, 2:32 PM
SteveR said...: Great story.

Missed it, those firefighters were from Caracas? Havana?; 1/19/10, 2:50 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Missed it, those firefighters were from Caracas? Havana?

No Paris. They just slip into that Los Angelas accent when they want to.; 1/19/10, 2:53 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Cause if they were Americans she would have been waterboarded and then sent to a secret prison in Barbados.; 1/19/10, 2:54 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: That was truly a beautiful video

Yes it was. I hope that there are many more miraculous rescues. The odds are long, but hope springs eternal and many of them have true faith.

Those poor poor people.; 1/19/10, 2:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, wonderful. Live? Why not indeed.

(I'm proud to be an Angeleno too.); 1/19/10, 3:35 PM
David said...: This is Proud to be An American Week in Haiti. Too bad that French minister did not get the memo. (I don't blame all the French for his comments, but what a jerk.)

The suffering is immense. We are going to have a long haul to get things halfway normal. Not "back to normal" please because normal for Haiti is not near good enough.

The pressure will grow to bring a large number of people here. As long as we weed out the escaped criminals and former high level Haitian government types, I'm all for it.; 1/19/10, 4:00 PM
Methadras said...: You take the good with the bad in situations like this. Every life saved is a victory. This woman is victorious. She would make a great American. I say get her and her husband over here now and let them spread that type of tenacity around some of the sullen and depressed meanderers of life in the states. She is an example to all.; 1/19/10, 4:26 PM
vbspurs said...: I couldn't watch past the moment the husband desperately scratched at the rubble with wire. I had already started crying a moment before, when she said, even if I die, I love you...

Cheers,
Victoria; 1/19/10, 5:00 PM
bagoh20 said...: Hallelujah!

I just came back from a PET scan that was 20 minutes of not being able to move. It was excruciating, made even more so by the unfortunate fact that about half way through, I started thinking about people like her trapped. I got very claustrophobic and uncomfortable. I can't imagine 6 days not being able to move. Incredible! And she looks better than I did afterward.

I didn't sing - I wish I had.; 1/19/10, 5:15 PM
vbspurs said...: Those are awful, Bagoh. And though you were poorly covered, cold (those places are usually freezing) and way claustrophobic, as you say, it was a day in Club Med compared to what the Haitians experienced.

Hope everything is well, Bagoh!; 1/19/10, 5:18 PM
Anonymous said...: A positive outcome in what has been a frustrating, and often infuriating week.

Infuriating because the UN is running the show, and as they've done in other "humanitarian" and "peacekeeping" disasters, they've bottled up every effort for others to reach the survivors - with the acquiescence of Sec. Gates, who officially announced yesterday that American soldiers would essentially stand down when it came to security.

If the UN knows anything, they know how to handle the media and how to put on a scary show. Starting with hiring thugs to create images of chaos and lawlessness, in this case essentially giving cover to Gates for staying home; American troops camped out at the airport.

One only has to look at the coverage - the reporters on the ground in and around Port-au-Prince wondering where all "violence" is, because it's not near them.

So, the past week has been extremely successful for the UN in keeping outsiders terrorized, thus allowing the UN to do what it does best; steal everything in sight. No, it may not be as profitable as stealing infant-formula from Iraqi babies, but it'll be close.; 1/19/10, 5:26 PM
bagoh20 said...: Thanks Victoria. No biggie, just have to get a rib removed that I injured playing basketball years ago. It never healed right. I already have a woman's liver, now one less rib. I should just start wearing panties and accept it, but, I insist on staying a lesbian.; 1/19/10, 5:30 PM
bagoh20 said...: What the hell do you think about for 140 hours of immobility? It's a miracle sh'e not stark raving mad by now. I would expect her to come out raging like Keith Olbermann.

I remember running away from home at the age of 10 because I didn't want to get a haircut. Me and my dog were gone all day while the cops looked for us. I spent hours sitting completely bored. I ended up counting to 1000 and then going home. The cops got me a few block before I got there. My ass got a tanning and the haircut was administered the following day.; 1/19/10, 5:40 PM
Anonymous said...: A little side note.

As you may know, Gov. Rendell of Pennsylvania personally arranged a military air-transport to rescue orphans in Haiti. Good.

What you may not know is that the children who were flown out were hungry, very hungry. So hungry that all flight personnel were ordered to stow away any food they were carrying, and not offer any food to the children - no matter how inhumane such actions may be.

Aside from the "big" things, it's these little things that grate the most - that with all the food sitting at the Port-au-Prince airport, no one lifted a finger to feed the children.; 1/19/10, 5:50 PM
DeLynn said...: Whew. Amazing. Thank you for posting!; 1/19/10, 5:57 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I don't blame all the French for his comments

I blame the French for Hati.; 1/19/10, 6:04 PM
Methadras said...: Almost Ali said...

A little side note.

As you may know, Gov. Rendell of Pennsylvania personally arranged a military air-transport to rescue orphans in Haiti. Good.

What you may not know is that the children who were flown out were hungry, very hungry. So hungry that all flight personnel were ordered to stow away any food they were carrying, and not offer any food to the children - no matter how inhumane such actions may be.

Aside from the "big" things, it's these little things that grate the most - that with all the food sitting at the Port-au-Prince airport, no one lifted a finger to feed the children

That's the one that kills me is the kids. God dammit if a child can't trust an adult to give it food while it's being saved. Why would Rendell make this order? WHY?; 1/19/10, 6:27 PM
Penny said...: Maybe it's just me, but I wondered why someone thought it made sense to stick a microphone into that hole with a camera catching that.; 1/19/10, 6:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Why would Rendell make this order? WHY?

I don't know exactly who gave the order, but I tend to doubt it was Rendell.

One thing we've learned is that no one is accountable in Haiti. Indicative is Sec. Gates passing the buck on security, in other words, it's not "his" responsibility - or what is known in the military as dereliction of duty.

Also, recall the night CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta witnessed - on camera - doctors and nurses be forced by the UN soldiers to abandon a field hospital. The transport trucks were clearly marked "UN," and the soldiers were clearly dressed in UN uniforms.

Of course, the following day the UN denied ever giving the order - implying CNN/Dr Gupta filmed a rogue unit. Which is correct, because the UN is wholly comprised of "rogue" units.

It's a wonder anyone survives when the UN is involved.; 1/19/10, 6:54 PM
Anonymous said...: It seriously made me wonder if toddlers contemplate suicide - that after finally being pulled from the rubble after hours and days without food and water: Is life is worth living without... something to eat, something to drink?

While adults strictly observe the rule books, where humanity and compassion are excluded.

I vividly recall Dr Gupta's expression of utter disbelief when the doctors were forced to abandon their field hospital - leaving dozens of critically injured Haitians to fend for themselves.

To Dr Gupta's great credit, he remained and tended the patients until the doctors returned the next morning - no doubt ashamed of their total lack of caring, and courage. And for buying into the UN propaganda about roving bands of murderous marauders - who, in fact, wear UN uniforms.

Nothing new here, really, just the repetition of Rwanda, and Sudan, and hundred other desperate places. After all, it's these desperate places that allowed Kofi Annan to become a billionaire - re-selling stolen baby formula.; 1/19/10, 7:23 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: In case the comments about the children on the flight were not tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended):

When people have gone without food for an extended period of time, you need to be very cautious with what, and how much, they are fed, or it can cause major problems.; 1/19/10, 7:40 PM
bagoh20 said...: "When people have gone without food for an extended period of time, you need to be very cautious with what, and how much, they are fed, or it can cause major problems."

I often wondered about that, what a screw up evolutionarily. You're starving and when you finally find food you are killed by eating it? Maybe the result is to weed out those who get themselves in trouble too often. Ant vs Grasshopper. There are more ants.; 1/19/10, 8:05 PM
Anonymous said...: In this case, the children were "hungry," not emaciated.

In all cases, however, water is essential to kidney function. Without it the kidneys shut down. This fact is so intuitive humans will, when necessary, drink sewer water to stay alive.; 1/19/10, 8:33 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: "This fact is so intuitive humans will, when necessary, drink sewer water to stay alive."

You're better off not doing that - get diarrhea and you'll dehydrate MUCH faster.; 1/19/10, 8:52 PM
Anonymous said...: You're better off not doing that - get diarrhea and you'll dehydrate MUCH faster.

Disagree. Liquid, virtually any liquid will keep the kidneys from shutting down.

It's a matter of survival; live with liquid, die for sure without it.

A good case in point is occurring now in Haiti where orphanages have run out of baby formula. As a substitute, they're using whole milk (powdered), knowing full well it will cause diarrhea, and dehydration.

But the whole milk will keep the kidneys from shutting down, which is far better than certain death. A baby can recover from diarrhea, but not burial.; 1/19/10, 9:25 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: That's just not true. Diarrhea will dehydrate you extremely quickly, which will do much more harm than any benefit you will gain from drinking the water that causes the diarrhea.; 1/19/10, 10:13 PM
Jason said...: "Even if I die, I love you so much. Never forget that. Oh, and remember to pick up milk!"; 1/20/10, 9:44 AM