Page 20 - The Edge - BTS 2019
P. 20

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

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