Miracles of survival

On May 12, 2008, an earthquake of magnitude 8 struck Sichuan province in China, killing over 69,000 people while another 18,000 went missing.

Amid all the misery and deaths, a pig was rescued after spending 36 days under the rubble. The pig weighed a mere 50 kg when rescued, down from 150 kg before the earthquake. It was promptly named Zhu Jianqiang, zhu meaning “pig” and jianqiang meaning “strong-willed.”

Zhu Jianqiang inspired many, with at least 100 Chinese businesses expropriating the pig’s full name as their own. Fan Jianchuan, on the other hand, bought the pig from its owner and moved it to a museum he had set up to commemorate the earthquake. There Zhu Jianqiang lived, attracting tourists. There, too, Zhu Jianqiang porked up; no, it wasn’t eaten but it ate a lot and had a weight problem.

I read the story of Zhu Jianqiang (I’m saying this reverently) back in 2008 and was thrilled to see an article about him in the South China Morning Post last week. Now aged 14—100 years in pig years—Zhu Jianqiang is, sad to report, now dying after a full life.

I mention the pig in some of my lectures around crisis survival, pointing out animals like Zhu Jianqiang, and, interestingly, very young children tend to survive longer in times of disasters and crises. Our non-human fellow animals survive better because they’re not overcome by sorrow and despair, as would be the case with humans trapped in the rubble.

Children also tend to be more resilient. When one of my daughters had to have surgery for congenital heart disease, her cardiologist told me to have it done as early as possible and not to worry about her being too young because her experience is that very young patients still don’t know how to worry or get anxious, and not only have a higher chance of surviving the open heart surgery but also heal much faster. And indeed that was the case with my daughter, who’s had two open heart surgeries.

I probably suffered more than she did, worried about how she would do during the surgery and after. Then too there were the bills, which no matter how jianqiang I tried to be, wereʍwhat’s the word useʍtough.

When we look at the survival chances of human adults, we find another important variable and this is social solidarity. In any kind of crisis, including this COVID-19 pandemic, being isolated is perhaps the most dangerous risk factor working against survival.

Two cases in the last decade show the importance of that social solidarity. One was the case of 12 adolescent football players and their young assistant coach who were trapped in Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai province, Thailand for 18 days. Some 10,000 people were involved in organizing the rescue operations, with two rescuers dying as a result, but the football team had no fatalities, thanks to the team keeping up their spirits with the help of the coach, who taught the team to meditate as well.

Pigs and non-human animals can’t meditate but they do live in the moment, the here and now, which is replicated through mindfulness training for stress management.

Even more dramatic than the Thai football team’s survival were the 33 miners trapped 700 meters underground in Copiapó, Chile in 2010. They survived a record 69 days on limited food rations and underground water but, most importantly, there was leadership from their foreman and the miners divided responsibilities for day to day activities and creating living spaces, and even a religious shrine. When the mines were finally rescued, they had lost much weight but had few serious health problems—silicosis (silica dust entering the lungs), one with pneumonia and several with dental and eye problems, the dental cases requiring surgery as soon as the miners were rescued.

(Reading about the miners’ dental issues, I’m convinced stress can create serious dental problems, because that’s what happened to me during the lockdown, with no clinics open to offer relief. I’m now going through consecutive extractions and surgeries for eight weeks now, my own Via Dolorosa I tell friends.)

There you have it, a pig, a football team, and a group of miners to remind us that hope springs eternal, even when trapped underground or in rubble. Humans are a quarrelsome lot but in times of crisis, people can work miracles simply by being around, for others.

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