Jerri Nielsen
Jerri Lin Nielsen | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1952 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Developed breast cancer while in Antarctica |
Jerri Lin Nielsen (born March 1, 1952) is an American physician with extensive ER experience[1], who in 1998 was hired to spend a year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where she would be the only doctor[2]. During the austral winter, at a time when the station is physically cut off from the rest of the world, she developed breast cancer. Nielsen teleconferenced with medical personnel in the United States, and had to operate on herself in order to extract tissue samples for analysis. A military plane was later dispatched to the pole to airdrop equipment and medications. Her condition remained life-threatening, and the first plane to land at the station in the spring was sent several weeks earlier than planned, despite adverse weather conditions, to bring her to the US as soon as possible.
Her ordeal attracted a great amount of attention from the media, and Nielsen later wrote an autobiographical book recounting her story.
Story
Nielsen's saga began in 1998, when was hired for one year at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Antarctica. This perilous region sees only one sunrise and one sunset per year, and experiences almost total darkness for the six months of winter, during which the temperature remains steady at around −60 °C (−76 °F). During this period, the station is also completely cut off from the world, as there exist no vehicles capable of operating in such cold weather. The "winterover" crew is thus stranded and must be entirely autonomous.
In the course of her work at the research station, Nielsen discovered a lump in her breast. After consulting US physicians via email and video conference, she performed a biopsy upon herself. The results were however inconclusive, because the material used on site was too outdated to allow for a precise diagnosis.
The organization in charge of the station back in the United States decided to send a military plane to airdrop supplies and medication for her treatment. Such airdrops were a yearly event several years earlier, when the station was run by the US Navy, but had later been stopped[3]. There exist no planes that can land in the cold temperatures experienced at the South Pole in the winter. Their skis would risk sticking to the ice, and their fuel and hydraulic lines would rapidly freeze, dooming the craft. The drop was also made dangerous by the total darkness, and by the fact that none of the machinery that had to be used on the ground to retrieve the packages before they froze was meant to be used in such cold weather.
Using the parachuted supplies, Nielsen began her cancer treatment, following the advice of her doctors over the satellite link. She trained her South Pole colleagues, none of which has prior medical experience, to assist her in self-administering chemotherapy.
In October, a LC-130 Hercules was sent several weeks ahead of schedule, despite the risks inherent to flying in such cold weather, to bring her back home as soon as possible. Another crew member, who had suffered a hip injury during the winter, was also evacuated.
After being in remission, the cancer returned around 2005 and spread to Nielsen's liver and bones. Since then she has also married Tom Fitzgerald.[4]. In October, 2008, Nielsen announced that her cancer had returned in the form of a brain tumour.[5]
Book and film
With ghostwriter Maryanne Vollers, Nielsen's story was told in the autobiographical book Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Story of Survival at the South Pole, which became a New York Times bestseller.
The book was later adapted into Ice Bound, a made-for-TV movie starring Susan Sarandon[6], and in 2008 became the inspiration for an episode of Fox Network show House, "Frozen," in which the team must somehow, via teleconference, diagnose and treat a stricken psychiatrist at the South Pole.
See also
Nielsen's case has some similarities to Dr. Leonid Rogozov's, who was forced to remove his own appendix while trapped in the Antarctic winter at Novolazarevskaya research station in 1961.
Notes
References
- Nielsen, Jerri (2001). Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6684-5.
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