I recently had the pleasure of meeting, and listening to Nando Parrado speak, and tell his story of survival. Nando was one of the 16 survivors of a plane that crashed on Friday October 13th, 1972 in the Ande Mountains. Not only was Nando a survivor, but he was also the leader of the group. With out Nando, none of the passengers ( team mates on the same rugby team) would be alive today. Nando, and the others spent 72 days in the freezing cold mountains, no food, no water, nothing. They were surrounded by arctic temperatures, avalanches, dead bodies of their friends, etc... Nando, and another friend Roberto climbed for 10 days. They climbed with out any equipment, their tennis shoes, no gloves, starving, and exhausted. They never gave up.
I do not want to go into too much detail, however some of you may remember a movie that was made "Alive: A Miracle in the Andes". It came out in 1993, and I will never forget it. I was young when I saw it, however, I still recalled pieces of it. A story like this, you will never forget. Nando lost his mother, sister and best friends in this crash, yet he was still pushing to live.
It was an absolute honour to meet such a person, and listen to such a story of survival. Luck, and smart decisions...This is what Nando said. He also told me that he believes they survived as they were all friends, team mates on the same rugby team. Wanting to live, wanting to help one another. Someone had to take the plunge and go for help.
I'm not sure if anyone will read this blog post as it's nothing to do with living in Mexico, or Cancun. However, I couldn't not share my experience. Whenever you think you've had a bad day, or that some things just aren't fair.... Watch this video if you have time.
5 comments:
Amazing story! God was with him.
I just watched the whole program. Incredible.
Kay - It truly is a story. I don't anyone could imagine a story like this happening, and listening to him speak about it for 90 minutes, was incredible. God was certainly with him :)
Mommy - I'm so glad you enjoyed the program. Incredible is the word I would use as well. What a story of survival, and perseverance. I have been chilled by this story since I met him earlier this week... This was an experience for me in which I will never forget. I hadn't realized the true depth of what they had gone through. The movie was a blurry memory, I was too young. Wow. That's all I can say.
I would have been 12 when this happened. I don't remember the actual event, but I did read the book when I was in my later teens/early 20's. The movie is powerful. I've sometimes wondered what happened to the people of that crash. So glad to hear that he's doing well and hope that the others are, as well.
Barb - I still haven't brought myself to read the book.... I may wait until I am no longer pregnant, and hormones consume my ability to control the tears!!
I may not have mentioned it in my post, but as of the day I wrote the post, every single survivor was still alive today. Also, Nando showed photos of them...They meet every year on the date of their rescue. Every year.
Nando is now a multi-millionaire and enjoying his life. He is an entrepreneur who started many businesses, and he also took over his families business in Uruguay.
I'm glad you enjoyed the post :)
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