Darrell Davis: The horrible and heroic cave rescue

Nothing can be more terrifying than barely wiggling through a narrow cave opening, unless you’re wiggling through a narrow cave opening while underwater.

That’s why the Thailand cave rescue is horrible and heroic. A boys’ soccer team was trapped in complete darkness for more than a week inside a cave system flooded by monsoon rains until they were found by experienced cave divers and brought food and medicine before extrication plans were put in place.

There’s a spot in the cave escape where the adult divers had to take off their oxygen tanks and push them through a space as narrow as three Mars bars placed end to end. It takes three hours to navigate the trail, partly underwater and partly along rocky paths, all of which would also be in complete darkness if the divers weren’t carrying lights along with the boys they’re rescuing.

Although there’s been tragedy, every single person rescued is a success story. It’s been a tribute to the courage of the soccer team and especially to the divers. It’s the stuff of dreams. And nightmares.