Motherhood

I went marketing this morning, something drawn my attention whilst I was haggling over some fishballs (ha). A female cat with its baby sleep soundly right at the corner attached to the stall. I reckon kitten is a month old, milking from it's mom and fell asleep later. I also assume mother was too tired or didn't want to wake the baby so she fell as sleep as soon as the baby does.

Why do I dwelled so much about their sleep? Because it was beautiful. The female cat has dark patch on her sparkling white coated fur whilst the baby has the mixtures all over the body, the rhythm of breathing are consistent and calm (I used this technique to calm my baby to sleep), they sleep so soundly despite noise pollution in the market. I've never seen a stagnant breastfeeding session especially the female cat are very alert when the babies are around, in this case, both knocked out at most vulnerable state. You know cats have exellent hearing and very sensitive to sound. 

 Both mother and baby sleep soundly in the midst of breastfeeding

I bend over to appreciate the beautiful scene of motherhood (Yeah, I was quite free this morning actually, waiting for my daughter to get off from classes, so I sort of squandering my time here ><). They didn't awake by my move (of course I did it discreetly, dumb!). I would think maybe they have traveled far and got so tired especially the mother just gave birth to 3 (poor little mother has to stray on street).

Perhaps it has been awhile and the mother feels that she needs to take care the other baby, she stood up and walked to the otherside of the stall (she didn't bother that I was watching her, perhaps she is really tired). She licked the tiny small baby again and again, finally baby was awaken and she did the same chore. She's so redefined with lovely motherhood.

The vendor told me they consume residual from the fresh chicken/fish stall as source of food (I felt heartache, to me they are just like a beautiful family except they are not human, look at her loves for her babies awww). I had a whim to bring them home (My irreconsilable empathy arise ><).

'Lunch time, baby'

 Baby milking from its mother

 

Whilst breastfeeding the baby, she also upkeep herself deligently!!

 

Imagine if animal could love their child instinctively, what makes the human mother dump the baby away? Killing or Abusing? Some animal kill their own 'babies' like reptile (fish) but They-don't-abuse!! So does this analogy symbolize animal has distinctive sentiments than human? haha. Well. This post is not going to delve into intense topic like this. Below are images  of animal motherhood which I garnered from other website, it's so beautiful and warm. So sit back relax and enjoy. :) 

Animal Motherhoood Images via.

  

Juliane Koepcke

This is a true story. I was astonished and I'm still.

Woke up in exquisite pain, hundreds or thousands of pictures ran through her mind like 200kmh. Vague impression from the airplane crash, the feeling of plummeted from thousand miles high, the chaos of cabin conditions....the trembling plane, people cried and scream, some prayed for hope, there were horrified, luggage begins to trembling down.. Captain and crew trying their best to prepare for emergency landing...it was havoc... she went unconscious state again.

"It was Christmas Eve 1971 and everyone was eager to get home, we were angry because the plane was seven hours late." said Juliane

Julianne Kopcke, 17, German Peruvian, the only survivor of LANSA Flight 508 airplane crash.

When she finally awoke to her senses again, miraculously, she found herself strapped in aircraft seat (yes it was plummeted our of aircraft), thanks to super-destructible airline seatbelt (now we learnt the importancy of the seatbelt). She knew she survived through the airplane crash. Struck by lightning through heavy thunderstorm, the plane failed to land eventually as it exploded into pieces, she blew out to the sky and later plummeted from few thousands feets high into the land of Amazon Rainforest.

Being plummeted and splashed down like a free ball she suffered from broken collarbone, deep cuts on her calf, severe concussions and swollen shuts eyes. As if just woke up from deep sleep however pains she has to endured, she unbuckled it and sit up to walk. There were corpses everywhere, laying grossly, total 94 passengers. Her first intention was to search for her mother but unavail, her last memory was they clutched with each other before crashes filled with extremely frights of death. Heavy explosion blew her out from cabin without parachute as well as other passengers. She later found other passengers clung onto seat with heads burried into ground on her way out. 

Covered with thick canopy of forest with no other contacts for help, her survival instinct was to reach civilization as soon as possible. Brought with her was few candies and food she could grab in hand, she begins her journey of death defying.

Ever thought of what beneath this renown rain forest? Nearly half of the animal population in the world can be found in this mysterious jungle, populated by insects, arachnids, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. Some popular one are Anaconda which can grow up to 21 feets long, Piranaha, a river fish has powerful jaw and razor - like triangular teeth that can shred flesh from bone in a matter of seconds. Jaguar, excellent hunter, speedy and intelligent, Poison Arrow Frog, Very small in size, but poisonous enough as to kill up to 100 people, Black Caiman, The largest predator in the Amazon river, it has no enemies other than man and can eat from piranha, capybara and giant river otters to humans. It's a home to many strangest looking, largest and smallest, loudest and quietest, more dangerous and least frightening animals on Earth.

Though she has to bear with pains, frights and unknown hope, based on her past experience, follow the stream might be the source to reach for help. One of the biggest factor that she could survived through the venomous, giant, strong and dangerous of animals infestated in this jungle was the surviving principal her father ever thaught. She is not a blonde bombshell, she was on her way to obtain the zoologist degree and her parents are renown Germany biologist. Matter of fact, she was at the site located 30 miles away for an ecology study with her parents a week before the crash. Amazon Rainforest is not new and strange to her.

She found a creek after a day of trekking and begins her journey all by herself through the dark, quiet and yet unveil dangers it can be. Through the ten days of trekking in the water (it's the safest to travel), hardly able to close her eyes without fears. cold. She was lucky however as she never met any revolts animals from the land or water, although at times she needs to cross the knee high river which potentially the human shredding machine fishes and giant Caiman could have break her into pieces within second. Nope. Her journey was quite safe other than her deep cuts were infected with 35 maggots.

On the nine days of adventures, she finally come across a boat and lumberman who aided her and they travel hours to seek for help from the local authority. No one recounted the conditions of other stranded passengers most probably might be gone, she saw a flock of vultures straying above the sky for carrions.

So what actually had happened to other passengers whom crash to the Amazon Rainforest? No, I didn't come across any elaboration on that throughout my research. I reckoned, most of them would have been too injured to move on and die of overbleeding, or starvation. They were not as lucky as the airplane survivor as I recounted in 'Andes Crash'.  

My assumption of these two different airplane crashes was one crashed at thick cushion of snow caped mountain, of course the doubling landing reduces the impact of plummeting and buffer the concussions to passengers. Wherease the other impact badly due to explosion and crashing to the hardcore land at once, these victims make no difference from those jump off the building, however at unimaginary heights. It was sad to learn this tragedy but these are risks we have to undertake with no mercy.

”	I had nightmares for a long time, for years, and of course the grief about my mother's death and that of the other people came back again and again. The thought Why was I the only survivor? haunts me. It always will.	”
—Juliane Koepcke, 2010 "What if you're Juliane Koepcke, the only airplane crash survivor, what would you do?" I don't have an answer. Do you?

Andes Crash

The recent aritical about human endurance  inspired me into this post. One of the story struck me with 'hey, there are survivors from ten thousands kilometres height airplane crash!!  It wasn't a fiction like we seen in the film! It was REAL!!

I stucked on 'Andes Crash' amid my research about SURVIVAL for my previous post. Didn't intend to delve into, however the spirit of survival strucked me with greatest sense of imaginary than I ever had. I spent hours and days searching and comprehend the entire scene and story, it's a touching, worth reading.

In my wildest spare time, I've ever picture if I would be one of the victim of an airplane crash, what do I do? First thing come across my mind was, oh oxygen mask. haha. Then I will reminisce my life with my family and friends. I will be regretted not spending good time with my old folks at home, and didn't do my best as a mother to my daughter. Then I will most probably die in  crash with my body smashed into pieces (I think) or into ocean and eaten by shark or drown. Whatever it's I-Never-Ever-Thought-Of-There-Could-Be-Survivors. However ignorant or innocent I was, it happened.

Friday, 13 Oct 1972, a 2 engines turbopro Fairchild  FH221-d, flight 571 carried a group of Rugby Team, students and other loose passengers, 40 of them in total from Uruguay to Chile for a match. It was supposed to be an exciting trip, full of spirit to take part in the game, glory in the hope. However a glory hope turn out to be a biggest challenge in life - fight for survival.

Due to misjudge for landing the airplane crashed at the snow caped mountain eventually. Strong winds blindfolded the decision making resulted the fatal error, one third of the passenger died upon crashing including the captain and crew, another 8 died after swept of avalanche.

Stranded at 11,000 feets high Andes (El Milagro de los Andes) near South America, the remainder 16 passengers contracted minor injury clung to life for good 72 days (2.5 months). Snow mountains are the only scene within sights, though it can be romantically snuggle in a camp for two but this wasn't the hype at that moment. Frights from crash, depression over decease of family members (Nando Parradon's sister and mother died in the same crash) are not the concern anymore but how to survive. Not to mention their career, bank account, study, business, car or house, the catalyst of clinging to live was able to get back  and warm hug with their family members at home.

Given scarce of resources, food, water and shelter, they survived through the believe in god and the trust developed within. They hid in the wreck aircraft for warmth, melted the snow for water and ate the dead body for food. Some medical students even innovated sunglasses from the corkpit screen to avoid contact with scorching sunlight. What aggravate the situation was  the rescue team cancelled the search after 11 days, assuming all couldn't make it through the freezing cold of -30 degree and died (we were lucky because freezing mountain is rare occasion unless we travel. Our proximity are hot weather all year long). 

Out of  fear, pain, depression they could have loss of hope TOTALLY. It was 1972, Internet was newly invented, who would able to locate them in an unnamed mountain heights?  How do they survive through scarce resources? Some of them had even planned their dying path - walk to the west before they become the item for food. Mountains and mountains high, civilisation is far to be seen. Imagine death is the only option.

Wide spread of snow caped mountains, two heros, Nando Parrado and Roberto Cannesa decided to trek for hope, defy against the destiny. Ten days with limited resources, good ten days (frankly I wonder how did they survived in the very first place, it was freezing cold with limited energy to burn, in this circumstances  they bring them with no food! I left out how they deperate for food, including aircraft seat to find straws but latex is something they could derived, leather goods, although it's synthetic blended). 10 good days of trekking before they finally give up, they met a Shepherd...

The story was truly eye-opening, amazing and inspiring. One would never thought of able to survive and they made it through steely focus and hope. Read more if you wish to know more..click here. or here.

Like any other popular news in the world, this ordeal has been narrated in the a blockbuster film 'ALIVE', cannibalism was recounted as well, however the review was pretty poor, as it left out heart-moving scene like group structure, spirit of teamwork etc. For more comprehensive version, you may try Piers Paul Read’s book “ALIVE ( I haven't read but I would get it soon).

Today, we are fortunate with the advanced of technology wit GPS. Rescuer would able to locate a trace within an hour...if you ever stranded from airplane crash.



Updates:

I went to bookstore to search for the book under the section of memoir but unavail. I reckoned this book was somehow published long ago, it may not sold in the bookstore anymore.

Didn't intend to connect to so much of sobbing story, however after certain deliberation I decided to share another story of airplane crash incident Juliane Koepcke - The ONLY Survivor. How does she survived through a strength of her alone? Read this