Courage to be a Co-Worker
by Cynthia Christianson
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It's been days since I watched on Primetime with Diane Sawyer,
the documentary of rescuing Dr. Jerri Nielson from the Antarctic South Pole,
and I still feel its impact. The courage it took for this team of 41 people
to leave their families and comfortable routines and spend a year in 90 degrees
below freezing weather, eight months of it in total darkness, still astounds
me. But most of all, the courage to rally as Dr. Nielson's life saving team
truly demonstrates to me the value of working from the heart as a co-worker.
This is the secret to successful team development. When Dr. Nielson discovered the lump in her breast, she examined the gifts and strengths of the people around her. She chose the welder to be the one to do the biopsy because he had steady hands. She asked Lisa, the computer scientist, to rig up a way to get the slides of the tissue samples on a camera that would send pictures back to the states (she used an old microscope). She chose John Penny, the mechanic in charge of the snow trackers, to be her cheerleader and team organizer. No one there had ever done anything medically that they were called upon to do to save this woman's life, but they all loved her and were willing to do whatever it would take, for her to survive. A touching part of the story was when the Air Force volunteered to fly there, in the darkness, and deliver the chemotherapy medicine. They had the courage to be co-workers even though they knew that it was so cold there that they could only open their doors for a few seconds to drop the huge boxes or the doors would freeze and so would they. They had the courage to fly into the Antarctic darkness knowing something like this had never been done before. The South Pole team had the courage to go out into the below freezing darkness where they knew their eyelashes would freeze shut and set up burning wood in large drums in a 3000 foot drop zone for the Air Force to see where to drop the crates. Then, everyone had to run around with their flashlights and find the crates. John Penny knew that the biggest challenge would be to take his tractors out to pick up the crates because the fuel in the tractors would freeze in those temperatures. So, he talked to each one of his tractors, that he had affectionately named, and asked them to not freeze up. He told them that they had a life saving mission to do and that he was counting on them to not let him down. The tractors worked, they found all four of the crates, got them back to the living quarters and found not only the chemo Dr. Nielsen needed, but lots of flowers, cards and fresh vegetables. All of the flight crew, the UPS and Post Office workers had signed the crates wishing her well. It was a miracle. It was the magic of working from the heart. But it wasn't enough. Months later, the cancer returned and now Dr. Nielsen was really in trouble. They knew she had to leave and have surgery or she would die. So, once again, the government asked for volunteers to run the risky mission. Four men of the New York National Guard stepped forward. This time though, the sun had returned but it was still very cold outside, 58 degrees below zero, just the exact temperature that freezes an airplane's fuel. Just minutes before they were to reach the compound, a windstorm blew up and it was like flying inside a ping pong ball. The pilots had to rely on their teamwork, faith in each other and their intuition. The final decision as a team was to decide how Dr. Nielsen was going to get on the plane. She had only minutes to get on the plane and she was very weak. The outside garments weigh thirty pounds and she could not step up to get in the plane. It was John Penny, Dr. Nielsen's saving grace and cheerleader for her soul, who saw the dilemma, picked her up and got her on the plane. At takeoff, a patch of blue sky opened up. As the plane went towards that blue sky, John felt as if his friend was flying into hope. It has a good ending. They flew Dr. Nielsen to New Zealand safely, where she was met by her family, taken then to United States, had surgery and has recovered nicely. She has written a book about the experience. It's entitled, Ice Bound. I haven't read the book myself, but I am sure reading her first hand account of the whole situation will have as powerful effect as this documentary did with me. She writes, they say, you go out on the plateau and find the God within yourself, but I say you find much more than that. You find the loving spirit that is within the other human beings. Thinking back over this documentary, I'll always remember the tears in the eyes of the people there who retold their involvement of how much Dr. Nielsen's experience touched their hearts; of how amazed they were that everyone was so willing to work together and be so creative. It was a life changing event for them and for Dr. Nielsen too. Do we have to wait until there is a crisis before we truly understand the depth of giving from our hearts? Does it have to be a life or death situation for us to shift from pleasing our egos to becoming a co-worker? I hope not because there is so much around us right now that we can give to and grow from. There are two powerful questions I ask myself when I become involved in an uncomfortable situation: What can I give to you? What can I learn from you? Perhaps the team at the South Pole never said these words verbally but their actions showed they had the concept. Give yourself the chance to step out of your comfort zone and become a co-worker with others. It's an amazing way to life's lessons. Copyright © 200l Cynthia Christianson Cynthia Christianson is a Personal and Professional Coach who specializes in assisting,others to get out of their head and into their heart. She is a graduate of Coach U, is trained in the Emotional Freedom Technique, and the Sedona Releasing Technique. She has a Master's Degree in Educational Theatre and has enjoyed the career of being a drama teacher for children ages four to eighty for over twenty years. She has created and implemented Educational Theatre teams, Children Theatre companies and Games To Grow, which is a workshop designed to encourage employees and employers to build team camaraderie by playing together and discovering the child within their hearts. Cynthia lives in Gainesville, Florida. She has been married to Robert for 18 years, has two teenage daughters and an emotionally demanding golden retriever named Leo. She coaches Creative Artists, at home Moms, Teachers, Small Business Owners, Professionals, and Entrepreneurs. To subscribe to Cynthia's online newsletter, HEART MATTERS, please email her. Cynthia Christianson, MA (352) 374-7111 Heartpathcoach@aol.com www. Heart-to-Heart-Coaching.com
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