Recent comments in /f/EarthPorn

Elliot-Fletcher OP t1_j820whe wrote

Reply to Autumn Reflections in Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness [3378x4222][OC] by Elliot-Fletcher

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

I thought I would share a brief story about how this day went.

My wife and I are nurses. We ascended Aasgard Pass of the Enchantments with a group of seven critical care nurses (on a through hike day, also known as the Larch March). There was a cardiac arrest that took place, and we ran a code for two and one-half hours, waiting for air rescue support.

The patient’s wife was a pediatric surgeon, and she was hiking with two other friends of hers—they happened to be a fellow surgeon and an ER doctor.

We were unable to resuscitate him, and he passed on that mountainside. We shared our deep condolences, and had tearful moments with the patient’s wife and group.

I will never forget that day. We finished the 23 mile hike having started at 05:30, and ending about 23:45 (an 18 hour day). We talked about the juxtaposition of insane beauty and tragedy, coexisting in the same space. It took quite awhile for us to process the day; it’s very different responding in the field than in a controlled hospital setting with the equipment we use every day to resuscitate patients.

We learned later that the patient’s wife also finished the hike with her group at 01:30, and displayed incredible strength (undoubtedly in emotional shock as well).

The beauty we saw that day will never be forgotten. And I will never think of the Enchantments without thinking of the lives that were forever changed up there.

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