The real struggle for the miners who initially managed to
stay alive for 17 days sharing a few tins of tuna and each rationed to a couple
of spoonfuls of water per day begins now as they return to normal life.
With the men restored to their families, friends, or lovers, the engineers of the rescue team have now handed primary responsibility for the miners over to the medics, who have been involved from the day the 33 men were found alive on August 22nd.
All the miners have now left hospital. Many were smuggled past the waiting press pack outside Copiapo Hospital yesterday disguised as workmen to avoid the stress of over-exposure.
One of the last men to be discharged was Mario Sepúlveda, or "Super Mario" as he was christened by the press, the joker in the pack, the ever-voluble compere to the underground reality show.
With the men restored to their families, friends, or lovers, the engineers of the rescue team have now handed primary responsibility for the miners over to the medics, who have been involved from the day the 33 men were found alive on August 22nd.
All the miners have now left hospital. Many were smuggled past the waiting press pack outside Copiapo Hospital yesterday disguised as workmen to avoid the stress of over-exposure.
One of the last men to be discharged was Mario Sepúlveda, or "Super Mario" as he was christened by the press, the joker in the pack, the ever-voluble compere to the underground reality show.
The second miner to emerge from the Fenix 2 capsule,
Sepúlveda shattered the tension of the early hours of the rescue, pulling rocks
out of his workbag to present to the team, joking with the President, and
cheerleading a chorus of "Los Mineros de Chile."
Now it appears that the star of the show, who spent every waking moment raising the spirit of the trapped miners, has come back to Earth with a harder bump than the others. He is said to be suffering from stress and exhaustion, and despite his discharge in the last few hours, his condition will be carefully monitored over the next few weeks.
Other miners suffered nightmares or woke up in their hospital room ready to begin their shift in the refuge below.
A couple of days before the rescue began we had interviewed Comandante Andrés Llarena, a naval medic who was assigned to the rescue operation in the driest desert in the world because he specializes in the care of men in the enclosed environment of a submarine. It was Llarena who, during the rescue, had assessed the miners' condition in the triage area moments after millions of TV viewers saw them emerge from the capsule.
Then, after Llarena's initial medical check, the miners were taken off to a private area to be reunited with their families. Even here their every movement was being analyzed by the on-hand psychologists.
Dr. Jorge Díaz, head of the medical team supervising the miners, says they require a minimum of 15 days rest. And they will all return for psychiatric evaluation in 10 days' time.
Thirty-one men have returned home to families who have also been under huge stress living in Campamento Esperanza (Camp Hope) -- as much if not more stress than the miners themselves felt.
Every time we spoke to Carola or her friend Cristy, whose husbands Raúl Bustos and Juan Carlos Aguilar were trapped below, they told us the miners were much more "tranquilo" than they were aboveground.
Ironically, the greatest threat to the miners' well-being now may be the very families who have so long been waiting and praying for their safe return.
Now it appears that the star of the show, who spent every waking moment raising the spirit of the trapped miners, has come back to Earth with a harder bump than the others. He is said to be suffering from stress and exhaustion, and despite his discharge in the last few hours, his condition will be carefully monitored over the next few weeks.
Other miners suffered nightmares or woke up in their hospital room ready to begin their shift in the refuge below.
A couple of days before the rescue began we had interviewed Comandante Andrés Llarena, a naval medic who was assigned to the rescue operation in the driest desert in the world because he specializes in the care of men in the enclosed environment of a submarine. It was Llarena who, during the rescue, had assessed the miners' condition in the triage area moments after millions of TV viewers saw them emerge from the capsule.
Then, after Llarena's initial medical check, the miners were taken off to a private area to be reunited with their families. Even here their every movement was being analyzed by the on-hand psychologists.
Dr. Jorge Díaz, head of the medical team supervising the miners, says they require a minimum of 15 days rest. And they will all return for psychiatric evaluation in 10 days' time.
Thirty-one men have returned home to families who have also been under huge stress living in Campamento Esperanza (Camp Hope) -- as much if not more stress than the miners themselves felt.
Every time we spoke to Carola or her friend Cristy, whose husbands Raúl Bustos and Juan Carlos Aguilar were trapped below, they told us the miners were much more "tranquilo" than they were aboveground.
Ironically, the greatest threat to the miners' well-being now may be the very families who have so long been waiting and praying for their safe return.
October 17, 2010 11:12 AM
Thanks for the article. I know how difficult reentry is for someone who has been "just" away from home. These men have been through so much and so many emotions and learned how to deal with the possibility of losing their lives. That is now so deep inside of them it will take so much to release it if they ever can. Just like men at war they have forged such a deep bond with each other, they will never be so close to anyone again.
Sometimes it is easier working to be a hero, than living day to day life with all the small things that you wanted to return to but now seem so unimportant.
These were ordinary men who went down into the mine and returned as heros. It is so difficult and I pray they will able to deal with it.
Sometimes it will be as difficult as having to carry out the trash.
October 18, 2010 1:34 AM
So maybe Nova and everyone else should leave them alone.