I Had to Survive: How a plane crash in the Andes helped me to save lives

In 2006, Nando Parrado was the first of the survivors of the 1972 Andes disaster to publish a personal account in English with “Miracle in the Andes”. Now, ten years later, two other accounts have appeared almost simultaneously. Pedro Algorta’s raw and honest ‘Into the Mountains’, and Roberto Canessa’s inspiring “I Had to Survive: How a plane crash in the Andes helped me to save lives”. All three are extraordinary accounts, all completely different, all essential reading. On the mountain, Roberto, with just two years of medical school behind him, was thrown in at the deep end. In impossible conditions with no medical equipment, he had to set broken legs, dress horrendous open wounds, and even performed an operation. And he tended to the injured with tender care (Algorta talks about him being ‘generous with the injured, harsh with the rest of us’). After surviving in desperate conditions for sixty days, constantly facing death, after several abortive attempts to trek out, he set out on that impossible final trek with his friend and rugby teammate Nando that eventually led to the rescue of the others stranded on the mountain. To a large extent Canessa’s life after the Andes has continued in a similar vein. As a renowned paediatric cardiologist in Uruguay, he has taken on the impossible cases, showing the same skill, tenderness, and strength he showed on the mountain to guide the children and their parents along the most difficult paths. Quite horrific cases, cases that everyone has given up on, where survival from one day to the next is uncertain, and death is always close. He has given the families hope were there was none, and one of the inspiring aspects of Canessa’s book is the series of testimonies, so clearly heartfelt, from the families of the children, and in one case from a young lady, given up as impossible case 20 years earlier, who now works at the same hospital as Canessa. Not all the children survived. For me the most inspiring story is that of Tomas who, in his short five years of life, showed more strength of spirit, courage, maturity, and joy of life than most of us could hope for in a lifetime. This is truly inspiring stuff, and I don’t think anyone can read this and not be challenged to reflect on their own life.

Good read. 50% survival, 50% tales of heart surgery etc. Tails off a bit with the latter. Should be 90/10.

I decided to read this book, after first watching a channel 5 three part documentary Andes plane crash followed by the Netflix film Society of the Snow. I was so intrigued about what must have been going on inside these young men's heads at the time, that I first read Nando's book, then Society of the Snow, now this one. This book is different from the other two as it focuses a lot on Roberto's medical carrier. I find it fascinating how someone could go through something so traumatic and turn it into such a positive thing in his life. He has helped so many people in such dark circumstances of varying kinds throughout his life, which just shows this man's character as truly exeptional. I can't help but want to just give him a big hug. This is definitely a book worth reading.

I love this story and while Nando’s account is still my favourite this book is definitely worth a read. It has more about Roberto’s life after the crash and his work as a doctor. I would recommend reading in additional to Nando’s account and/or “Alive” for a full view of this amazing story.

I have seen the film, Alive, written by another of the Andes survivors. This book brings to life the will to survive of succumbing to death and then thriving and making his life count after so many others lost their live.

Arrived quickly and in great condition. If you're familiar with this amazing story of survival, you'll find this book really interesting. The parallels he draws from his time on the mountain, to what he overcomes in life is amazing... the stories from his friends and family are touching as well.

I had to read this book because I was the same age as Dr Canessa when this tragic accident happened and remembered reading about it in the national newspapers. I really didn't have the full story of how the survivors managed to stay alive for so long, at the time the press was emphasizing the eating of human flesh and not a great deal more, however, I knew there had to be more to the way they not only survived, but how Dr Canessa and his rugby team mate Nando Parrado, managed to find their way out of a near impossible mountain range on foot! I must have just forgotten all about it over the years and never quite completed picking up on the story again, until now. This book, "I Had to Survive" is a first-hand experience from Dr Roberto Canessa, who did just that, and not only gives the facts of how they got down but also what you might consider Dr Canessa's 'exit' and recovery from this traumatic event at the tender age of 19. A story that suggests to me that there is always someone worse off than yourself.

Fascinating read and hard to put down. Already read Nandos book also such bravery and endurance

Perfecto estado

In October, 1972, a chartered Uruguayan Army flight left Montevideo, Uruguay for Santiago, Chile, with passengers traveling to play in a rugby match. The flight, which carried 45 crew and passengers, crashed while flying through a pass in the Andes Mountains. Of the 45, twelve died immediately, and a number died of injuries and from an avalanche later. The survivors, all rugby players and an older man, numbered 16 by the time they were rescued in late December after two intrepid young men, Roberto Canessa - a 19 year old medical student - and Fernando Parrado, set out to walk to civilization. After 8 wrenching days walking through the mountains in the direction of what they thought was help, Canessa and Parrado were found by two shepherds. They were able to tell their rescuers where the others were and they were all airlifted to safety. It was there, then, in the midst of the joyous reunions with their families, that the world began asking questions. Questions like what the 16 ate to survive their mountainous captivity? Answers like pieces of meat from the bodies of those who died in the crash. The "world" was shocked. But what would you have done if faced with the same situation? One of the young men who had made that long, arduous walk in freezing conditions has written a book describing the horror he and the others experienced and how they had the will to survive. Roberto Canessa, who became a world-famous pediatric heart surgeon, tells the story in his book, "I Had to Survive: How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired my Calling to Save Lives", and it's a surprising one. i expected religious belief to be the reason for his endurance, but, in fact, it was love for both his family and his girlfriend, and later wife, Laura. He wanted to survive for them, and for what he felt he could contribute to the world if he did. His knowledge of the basics of medicine helped after the plane crash, but Canessa makes it clear that everyone pitched in to help, much as they had worked together as a rugby team. Even the decision to eat from the bodies of their dead was made as a group, and several said they hoped their bodies would help save others if they died. The book is written in Roberto Canessa's voice, but other people's reminisces are added to the text. The book is mostly about the plane crash, but there is a large part about the young patients who had come to Roberto Canessa, either in utero or shortly after birth, with heart problems he was able to fix. Most of the patients survived, but some didn't. Canessa is open about those who didn't survive. The reader of a memoir usually doesn't know how much to "trust" in the telling of a life by the memoir writer. Dr Canessa's writing seems to be heartfelt and is the story of a life-changing event that I assume is correct in how he saw it and lived it.

Der Memoir von Roberto Canessa ist unglaublich interessant. Canessa ist einer der 16 Überlebenden des Uruguayan Air Force Flug 571, der 1972 in den Anden abgestürzt ist. Damals noch Medizinstudent, erzählt Canessa auf ehrliche und fesselnde Art über die Geschehnisse der damaligen Zeit und wie er und 15 andere schlussendlich Wochenlang in den Anden ausharrten bis er und sein Kollege und Freund Nando Parrado schließlich mit letzter Kraft Hilfe holten. Er beschreibt die Rettung, was in ihnen damals vorging sowie das ganze aus Sicht seiner Eltern und damaligen Freundin/heutigen Frau. Der zweite Teil des Buches beschreibt die Zeit seit dem Absturz. Das weitere Medizinstudium und die Zeit als Arzt, die Ausbildung als Pädiatrischer Kardiologe und schließlich verschiedene Patienten die ihm im Gedächtnis geblieben sind. Bis zum Schluss scheint alles was Canessa macht durch den Absturz motiviert. Er hat seitdem das tiefe Gefühl, seinen sozusagen "für ihn" verstorbenen Kollegen des Rugby Teams und deren Angehörigen beweisen zu müssen, dass diese nicht umsonst gestorben sind. Ergreifende Beschreibung, die ich allen empfehlen kann, die in ihrem Leben durch eine harte Zeit gehen und allen, die den Sinn im Leben suchen. Auch Medizinern ist dieses Buch zu empfehlen.

V good

Superbe