A doctor who was among nine Aussies honored for their roles in rescuing a youth soccer team and their coach from a Thai cave said he was most frightened by not knowing how much sedative to give the weakened boys.
“It was an estimate to start with and the first child was an experiment in a way and so it was a good guess with a lot of advice from a lot of other specialists,” anesthesiologist Richard Harris told reporters after a ceremony at Government House, where he and his dive buddy Dr. Craig Challen, a retired veterinarian, received the Star of Courage, the second-highest civilian bravery honor in Australia.
Harris, 53, sedated the 12 soccer teammates and their 25-year-old coach before they embarked on their perilous journey out of the Tham Luang cave, where they were trapped by floodwaters on June 23 and found nine days later.
The doctor said Tuesday that he consulted with several specialists in Thailand and Australia before deciding how much of the medication to administer in efforts to prevent the group from panicking.
“I’ve never done it in the back of a cave on malnourished, skinny, dehydrated Thai kids before, so that for me was the most frightening part of the week,” Harris added.
Asked what would have been the consequences if he had gotten it wrong, Harris said: “A poorer outcome than we got.”
Challen, 53, said the first boy to emerge from the cavern alive gave him hope.
“The first boy came through and he was still alive and still breathing — that was one of the best moments,” Challen said.
The two Aussies arrived at the cave on July 6 and reached the team the next day.
“Dr. Harris conducted initial medical assessments and was able to provide information to the awaiting authorities regarding the safest extraction methods,” the bravery citations said.
“The rescue mission was hazardous, with poor or zero visibility, debris and constrictive passageways, variable air quality, and made more difficult with further rainfalls predicted,” they added.
The other seven divers displayed much bravery throughout the cave system, helping move the team to the entrance, their citations said.
“The threat of sudden flooding, movement of debris and deterioration of air quality posed continuous, potentially fatal hazards to all personnel in the cave system,” the citations said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had nominated the nine for awards, which were fast-tracked because of widespread calls for official recognition of their roles.
“You made us so proud. Selfless and courageous, superbly professional, competent. We could not have better ambassadors showing the best of our Australian values than you,” Turnbull told the award recipients.
“It’s impossible to overstate how dangerous was your task,” he added.
Speaking after the ceremony, Harris reminded reporters how many people had been involved in the rescue effort.
“We just went cave diving for a few days and were able to get the kids out … these awards have been completely unexpected and we’re just trying to emphasize how big a part so many people played in this,” he said, according to abc.net.au.
“We’re not quite sure why the spotlight has shone on us as a pair, but it is all quite exciting, but we just need to get back to work and stop my head swelling and start to relax,” he added.
Six police officers and a navy diver were awarded the lesser Bravery Medal.
With Post wires
