Copiapó Dreaming – The Copper Miners’ Tale
This week it seemed at least half the world was captivated by the uplifting story of the Chilean miners. The 33 men – mainly middle-aged and of modest means – zoomed up in high-tech capsules from the deep, would-be tomb where they’d been waiting for 69 days underground in the southern Atacama, not far from the industrial, northern Chilean city of Copiapó.
The amazing and nearly-too-good-to-be true news is that a top-notch team of engineers, doctors including the NASA/Johnson Space Center Deputy Chief Medical Officer, nurses, psychologists and others pulled off this fantastic rescue by which each and every one of these real men were delivered to Camp Hope (Esperanza) a tent city swelling with media and enthusiastic politicians, clergy, miners’ families and, presumably, support staff – cooks, washers and others who helped people there cope with the situation.
It’s inconceivable that any human with a heart would not be gladdened upon learning of the miners’ safe arrival – all more-or-less in good shape, no less – on firm ground. A rabbi said this of the affair: we too-often take this world for granted; but after their ordeal in the darkness, the Chilean men kissed the earth and thanked god for simply returning them to what they’d had before – a place filled with sunlight, air, loved ones, friends, food, music and, well, everything they had and have again. So there’s a religious message here, if you’re open to that. At the same time, an atheist would see clear evidence in this fantastic episode for the power of humans and science, technology and coordinating resources.
The medical issues are rich, including: risk of fatigue and dehydration in an inescapable, 90 degree hot and humid environment; vitamin deficiency and possible eye damage upon exiting, from lack of sunlight; lung problems from metal dust exposure; infections like pneumonia, potentially shared in a small communal space or gut-related, if hygiene is poor and human waste is not stashed properly; emotional downers – like fear and depression – may affect men who don’t articulate those sorts of concerns.
Some environmentally-minded thinkers point out that this true tale isn’t representative, reducing the story like this: “For every miner who was rescued before the cameras this week, more than 400 others will die this year.” Indeed, the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, estimates that worldwide, approximately 12,000 miners will lose their lives this year, while on the job. They’re right, I know – mining is a risky, under-regulated occupation.
Nonetheless, I’m thrilled by this remarkable story, at two levels: first, that the “patients” are all right, and second – what’s even more awesome – is that people around the world cared so much about the miners’ well-being. I’ve been wondering what if the outcome hadn’t been so successful. The news coverage would have been less intense, and the President of Chile would have had more difficulty maintaining his political position, and maybe there’d be more regulation of copper-mining in the future. Still, it would have been OK, good and maybe great, I think – even without the happy ending – that the engineers and international top-docs with their expertise, and miners’ families and lovers’ with their food and good cheer, did everything they could.
The outcome matters, but so does the effort, in itself. If we don’t as much as offer care to humans who need it, there’s little chance they’ll get better. This news is about health care, delivered. So the next, logical question is this: Can we take this up to another level by providing high-quality, coordinated care to every group of 33 patients with a guarded prognosis, and do whatever it takes to make them well using existent technology and medicines? This story is a fantasy, as much as it’s real.
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