Not Your Average Operator, Ep: 032 – Q & A #3: Miracles and Uplifting Experiences
This week, Raf went through some of the great questions we have received from you, our listeners, and dropped these two bombs on the team to prompt conversation:
- Have you ever witnessed a miracle?
- What is the most uplifting thing you have seen recently?
This led to a fairly significant conversation, only broken by poor attempts at humour from your least favorite operator, Mike…
Raf recounted the story of his baby brother’s survival when he contracted meningitis at 6 months of age. He shares memories of his mother staying at the hospital for the entire journey, remaining by his brother’s side through his life and death struggle. Raf also shares a story of a combat helicopter mission where he extracted troops under fire, but in the process needed more power than the engine could provide. He still does not understand how or why his helicopter continued to fly on that day.
This led Melon to recount the story of his daughter Annie’s birth. His wife Cherie’s waters broke during the 22ndweek of her pregnancy with their daughter Annie. Somehow Cherie managed to overcome multiple infections and her body’s natural tendency to progress into full labour for 7 days, and made it to the start of the survival window for premature birth. On the first day of the 23rdweek, a 570 gram / 1 lb baby was born, but the neonatal unit was not ready…
Mike shared the story of his close friend John Grant, a Navy SEAL who survived a brain damaging SUV rollover with the love of his wife and strength of character. If you need a boost, see some of their videos online. https://www.instagram.com/laurabpilates/?hl=en
The uplifting experiences of a Special Forces operator dealing with equipment failure, a vision impaired teenager rocking out, the example of charitable work, and practical advice on how to deal with the fear of flying round out the episode.
Raf refers to the charity: https://fightfortheforgotten.org/
707 aerobatic manoeuvre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_khhzuFlE
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