GUPTA. His heroic act has proven him right.
The most moving moment on TV last week wasn’t a brilliantly acted drama, but a real incident in a live news report on the Nepal earthquake and its harrowing consequences.
TV doctor and medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta was in a rescue plane that ferried injured victims to the nearest hospital, saving many lives.
One particular victim, however, didn’t look like she would make it: A young mother pulled out of the ruins of an apartment building suddenly suffered cardiac arrest while her rescue vehicle was still up in the air, and there was nothing Gupta could do to help her because the helicopter wasn’t equipped for medical rescue.
So, thinking very fast, he gave her upper torso a strong “chest thump” to force her breathing to resume—and, after a few agonizing seconds, during which nothing happened, she did cough back to life!
It was a powerful moment that filled viewers with gratitude for Gupta and all the many rescue volunteers who have quickly responded to the plight and need for instant help from strangers coming from the other side of the world. It was proof positive that good people can solve problems and save the world, one selfless act at a time.
More on Gupta: If memory serves, many years ago, the then new US president, Barack Obama, tapped him to serve in his Cabinet as health secretary—but, he decided to turn the prized offer down because he felt he could best be of service in other ways. —Well, it looks like the inspiring effect of his recent heroic act has proven him right!
Another memorable TV image we recently caught also involved a rescue helicopter—but, the scene was not in Nepal but in the US hinterlands, where four hikers found themselves trapped on a high precipice with no way down—and thus had to be extricated from their dangerous situation by helicopter.
In this instance, however, something very wrong unexpectedly happened: Just as the chopper lifted off from the steep precipice, its engine suddenly failed to do the pilot’s bidding—
and the helicopter plummeted down, straight into an area with a lot of small houses and cars.
The pilot must have realized to his horror that his chopper could cause a lot of damage and kill people—so, he twisted it as far away from the houses as he could—and the helicopter crashed into an uninhabited clearing, missing people by only a few meters!
It was a certifiably miraculous outcome that made onlookers cheer in gratitude and joy—and the moment was rendered even more amazing when the chopper’s dazed passengers stumbled out—and they were all A-OK!