Cell phones really are a lifesaver

Today's MacGyver award goes to the unnamed family member who, when a blackout shut off power to a hospital during a relative's emergency apendectomy, solved the problem elegantly and quickly. Reuters has the story:

Leonardo Molina, 29, was on the operating table on July 21, when the power went out in the Policlinico Juan D. Peron, the main hospital in Villa Mercedes, a small city in San Luis province.

"The generator, which should have been working correctly, didn't work," a hospital spokesman, whose name was not given, told TN television news station.

"The surgeons and anesthetists were in the dark... A family member got some cell phones together from people in the hallway and took them in to provide light," he said.

Ricardo Molina, 39,
Leonardo's brother, told La Nacion newspaper that the lights were out for an hour and his brother's anesthesia was wearing off.

I've ranted about this before, but science is about creative problem-solving. Like most geeks, I carry a flashlight everywhere...you know, in case the zombies attack. But you can't prepare for everything. Figuring out what to do in a life-threatening situation, expediently and efficiently, using nothing but the tools around you, is superheroic.

Cell phones light up operating room during blackout [Reuters/CNN]

Image: MIT