Towards 2025 – Invest, Challenge, Prepare

“Invest in yourself, challenge yourself, do hard things, prepare.”
Dr Richard Harris
 

“Don’t shy away from challenges,” was a resounding theme from Dr Richard Harris’ presentation at the Sports Auxiliary Father Daughter Dinner last week. 

Held in the Long Room of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, 150 parents, grandparents, daughters, granddaughters, and staff were captivated by Dr ‘Harry’ Harris and his story of rescue and human capacity. Dr Harris was part of the rescue team that saved a Thai soccer team of 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach during the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018. 

As a young boy, ‘Harry’ described himself as a ‘nerd.’ He found his hobby and passion in underwater photography and diving and studied medicine, becoming an anaesthetist. He has had the opportunity to cave dive all over the world both as a hobby as well as part of expeditions. Harry had been working on cave (sump) rescues for 12 years prior to the Thai Cave rescue in 2018. This was a precursor to Harry being asked to assist with the Thai Soccer Team rescue in the caves in Thailand.  

As an anaesthetist, Harry has worked in regions with limited technology and supplies, where he gained exceptional results in his field. From this experience, Harry worked with small under resourced teams with confidence, having worked for two years in Vanuatu, as an anaesthetist. He has worked with the South Australian Ambulance service medical retrieval teams, achieving great outcomes for patients, with only the contents of his backpack. 

When Harry was asked to travel to Thailand to assist in the rescue, he was cautious. The Soccer Team had walked into the caves, which were described as their club rooms, after training one day. They had not anticipated the monsoon rains which deluged the caves. The group had travelled more than two kilometres underground and one kilometre inland, they had been in the cave for 10 days, in the dark, with no food and drinking water from the cave. Harry had experimented with anaesthetising in rescue situations with water previously and had “failed miserably.” 

Photo: AFP PHOTO / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)

Harry described the events of the next three days as part of the rescue team as nothing short of a miracle. To achieve a successful rescue and bring the boys and their coach out alive, meticulous planning was required. The rescue plan involved sedating the team with Ketamine and strapping oxygen cylinders to their chests and administering injections in the leg every 45 minutes of the three-hour rescue journey, which involved delicate training of the rescue divers prior. On top of this was the fact the boys could not swim, and they were journeying through pitch black caves. 

The story is truly remarkable. A story Dr Harris reflects on with the following learning moments: 

  • Invest in yourself 
  • Challenge yourself 
  • Do hard things 
  • Prepare 

At St Catherine’s there is a deep commitment to support, nurture and empower our students to invest in themselves and seek out challenge through our depth of co-curricular opportunities. This journey offers a springboard into personal discovery, where students are encouraged to discover and expand their potential, to be curious and to push through their comfort zone. 

When girls dare to step into the Co-curricular opportunities offered, they are supported to be courageous, to take risks and to be bold. For each different environment, there is the possibility to flourish, to thrive and to grow. To be open to this capacity for growth supports our girls to become independent, globally responsive young women who approach all endeavours with empathy, integrity, commitment, and determination.  

All the guests who attended the evening were moved by the personal reflections provided by Dr Harris. He is an example of what following your passions and challenging yourself can achieve.  

Thank you to the Sports Auxiliary for organising this event in partnership with St Catherine’s School. 

 

Mrs Gina Peele, Deputy Principal - Student Programs