Saving a life...

I love National Geographic! I am not only talking about the TV channel but also about the magazine. When I am at home I love to switch to NatGeo and watch a good documentary. One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to buy the NatGeo magazine, make myself a cup of coffee and sit in my garden in the sun to read it. Every issue is unique in its own way. The magazine is full of interesting stories and colorful pictures. Sometimes I catch myself staring at a page with a photo for quite a long time just thinking “How in the name of God did they manage to take such an incredible and powerful photo?” NatGeo chooses a photo of the year every year. I honestly don’t know how they do it because all the photos that come in are so breathtaking. Let’s take this one for example.

In 1987 James Stanfield’s photo of Zbigniew Religa was proclaimed a photo of the year in National Geographic. The photo was taken in Poland. Heart surgeon Dr. Zbigniew Religa keeps watch on a monitor tracking the vital signs of a heart-transplant patient. One of Religa’s colleagues who helped him perform two transplants in an all-night session rests in the corner. The surgery lasted for 23 hours! The patient survived and still lives in Poland. Unfortunately Dr. Religa passed away 2009.

 

Since I was always into medicine this picture kind of made me think. I am really sad that I suck in science so much that I actually can’t be a doctor. Doctors, nurses and other medical stuff are true heroes of today and not top models, soccer players or pop stars. Every kid dreams to be a doctor when they grow up but they lose that wish over time as they see pop stars making a lot of money in no time. Instead of being true heroes they chose to be people that fill covers of magazines by doing nothing. I personally think that being a doctor is one of the most honoring and fulfilling jobs there is. What can be more beautiful than to save a life? This photo is so strong because it shows us all the studying, knowledge and work behind becoming a doctor as well as the beauty of saving a life. I don’t know what else to tell you about this photo because I can’t really put it into words. I am just amazed by it and think that we should all be thankful for people like Dr. Religa. And I also feel very sad because I will never be able to know the feeling you have after you have saved someone’s life. I think I am going to call my cousin and her husband now who are both surgeons to see how they feel after saving a life. :D

“And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.”

XOXO A.