Page 20 - The Edge - BTS 2019

SUMMER CONFERENCE AND EXPO

BY DON HARRIS

Aron Ralston Turned a Tragedy into a Triumph

Aron Ralston

Aron Ralston gave AASBO members – and everyone else Ralston said he wondered what problems he would face if
– a heart-wrenching reason to never give up, no matter the he, indeed, did cut o his arm to set himself free. Would he
odds. bleed to death?
Ralston’s keynote address at AASBO’s Summer Conference He picked up his pocket knife and tried to cut his arm.
and Expo on July 19 kept his audience on the edge of their It was an inexpensive knife. It didn’t work. He cautioned
chairs as he recalled the day-by-day, hour-by-hour tension- ll AASBO procurement o cers not to buy the cheapest items. OPTIMAL
mishap that almost cost him his life. “I needed a better knife,” Ralston said. LEARNING
His topic: 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, is the At night, temperatures got down to about 40 degrees. He TEMPERATURES
story of how he cut o the lower portion of his right arm after was shivering. He was facing starvation and dehydration. RANGE FROM
being trapped by a falling boulder in a Utah canyon. A movie, “Facing adversity, we nd out what we’re truly capable of,”
“127 Hours,” was made of Ralston’s ordeal. It stars actor James he said. 68-74
Franco as Ralston, the hiker who 15 years ago met the ultimate On the fourth day of his captivity, he took the knife and DEGREES
challenge. e lm had six Academy Award nominations in stabbed himself in the arm, hitting a bone. en he realized FAHRENHEIT.
2011. he had two bones in his forearm. He was able to stop the
Ralston said he felt so blessed to be able to share his story bleeding, using a makeshift tourniquet.
with school business o cials. “It’s a blessing that I’m alive,” he At 124 hours in the canyon he chipped his name and the PROPERLY
said. date he expected to die on the canyon wall. He gured this VENTILATED
Ralston said he had a choice to make 15 years ago. “It could was his last night. en he decided that if he didn’t get out, CLASSROOMS CAN
have been a tragedy,” he said. “I turned it into a triumph. You he surely would die. If he cut his arm o , he might bleed to INCREASE TEST
have broken facilities, the challenges you face – the boulders death. at’s when he chose the option to cut his arm o SCORES BY approx.
you face in life.” by breaking the bone, cracking it. en he cut through the
In April 2003, Ralston, a mechanical engineer and avid tendon. He said he closed his eyes and took a deep breath 17.3%.
outdoorsman, set out on a fateful hike to Blue John Canyon, an before smashing his arm, but never shed a tear. He strapped HVAC MATTERS.
11-mile-long gorge north of Four Corners that in some places is his arm to his chest, again enabling him to stop the bleeding.
just 12 inches wide. He didn’t tell anybody where he was going. “On the sixth day I stepped out of the canyon,” Ralston
He dropped into the upper part of the canyon, some 100 feet said. “ at’s when I almost passed out. We are not wired PUEBLO CARES ABOUT YOUR FACILITIES AND YOUR STUDENTS
below the surface of the desert, when a boulder came loose, to handle the immensity of what I experienced. It made
crashing down. He tried to protect his head, but in doing do his me understand what was important to me – what was tudents perform best S
right arm became lodge between the boulder and the canyon extraordinary.” Pueblo provides HVAC Our real strength is the
wall. He walked for ve miles, found some water, and waved in high performance solutions for facilities consultative approach
Ralston, a former Awatukee and Chandler resident, was to a family in the distance. Recreating his pleas, panting, he schools where the phy- that are fiscally and we take to helping
familiar with desert life and had considered the hike “a walk said in a pleading voice, “I need help.” He paused and said, “I sical learning environment environmentally responsible, facilities identify and
in the park.” couldn’t have blamed them if they ran the other way.” is comfortable, quiet, and our projects significantly implement ideal class-
“Most of you have not had that experience,” he said. “A rock A helicopter was summoned. Ralston said he ran to it like
falling on you. Trapped. To protect my head, I put my arms up. a scene from “Chariots of Fire.” well-ventilated and improve the quality and room environments.
I tried to get my arm free. I was wedged in. I tried to rip my arm During the ordeal, Ralston lost 30 pounds. “I didn’t give well-lit. cost-effective delivery
free, lift the boulder.” up hope,” he said. “ ere is nothing more powerful than the of education. Pueblo is proud to
Ralston took a break, thought about starting a re to send will to live, unless it’s the will to love. What I gained from this Students demonstrate support an optimal
smoke signals. “If I moved too much I was in great pain,” he is I’m stronger. It’s not what you do, it’s who you are.” this fact in classrooms Our full portfolio of energy learning environment
said. Given a second chance at life, Ralston now participates in every day. Teachers efficient HVAC services, for the educational
He had tools in his backpack, which he considered using to search-and-rescue missions. facilities across Arizona,
carve away the rock. “I did not want to cut my arm o ,” he said His message to AASBO members: “When those boulders confirm it. And it is building controls and service their students and
rmly. come crashing down, you have choices. Rather than push it proven by research plans are only part of the their staff.
He decided he had to adapt, change, make a di cult choice. away, welcome them.” time and time again. story.
Cutting his arm o was at the bottom of his list of options.
He looked around the canyon. No water. Eventually, to Aron Ralston can be reached at: Keppler Speakers, (703) 516-
survive, he drank his own urine. “I prefer water,” he quipped. 4000 or (703) 516-6430.
800.840.9170
www.pueblo-mechanical.com

20 THE EDGE | BACK TO SCHOOL 2019