I, Ben Verhoef, Dual Experience of Wilderness Survival and Clinical Rescue

Ben Verhoef, now 34 years old, is a medical professional in the emergency department of a general hospital in the Netherlands. As an experienced emergency care provider, he faces life-and-death situations every day, dealing with critical emergencies. In this high-intensity work environment, he must remain calm and decisive at all times, take control of the scene, and save lives hanging by a thread.

Of course, Ben Verhoef was not destined from the start to pursue such a difficult and weighty profession. In fact, tracing back to his childhood, those years spent in a small Dutch village were the very reason for his composure in the face of immense pressure today.

Verhoef was born in a sparsely populated rural town with a slow pace of life, surrounded by vast farmlands and forests. As a child, he and the other village kids could always find various outdoor activities to pass the time. Most of the time, they would roam the nearby woods. Although not too large, this forested area was enough for them to feel as if they were in an untamed, primordial world.

In the woods, the children would sometimes build rudimentary huts, using branches and fallen leaves to shelter themselves from wind and rain. Other times, they would bring homemade fishing rods and pass the time angling in the stream that flowed by the village's edge. If luck was not on their side and they caught nothing from the stream all day, they would turn to hunting instead, cautiously tracking the occasional rabbit or squirrel with their families' old hunting rifles.

As night fell, the children would build a campfire in the woods and sit around it, sharing tales of their day's adventures. The warmth and light of the flames enveloped them, making the silent night seem less unfamiliar. Although life was harsh and rudimentary, those carefree, freewheeling childhood days remained etched in Verhoef's memory. Perhaps it was this very experience that later allowed him to remain composed and dexterous in the life-and-death work of emergency care.

Ben Verhoef has been working in emergency care for many years and is highly experienced. He excels at cooperating with others and respecting them, allowing him to handle different patients with ease and earning him the recognition of colleagues and patients alike. Choosing this profession aligned with his innate desire to help others and brought him a sense of fulfillment, as he is not particularly skilled in technical trades.

In his spare time, Ben often needs to lend a hand by helping friends and family go to the hospital or taking them there himself. This enthusiasm for helping others means he plays a similar role in his private life. Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that he is so devoted to the medical profession.

What left a particularly deep impression on him were his past experiences with pediatric emergency care. The helpless appearance of those young lives in peril still surfaces in his mind to this day. Whenever he recalls those moments, he is gripped anew by a profound sense of powerlessness, prompting him to be determined to pursue excellence in his work and save as many lives as possible.

From a young age, Ben had a deep interest in outdoor activities, exhibiting a closeness to nature and a love for a simple life. Growing up in that small Dutch village, he often went fishing with his friends in the nearby woods or built campfires to keep warm, enjoying a carefree childhood.

Although Ben Verhoef always harbored an interest in a military career, unfortunately, other choices in life ultimately prevented him from pursuing that path. However, this did not diminish his passion for outdoor survival skills. On the contrary, he cherished every opportunity to enjoy the freedom of the outdoors, even if it meant simply bringing along the basic supplies at hand and surviving in the wild with limited tools.

For Ben, carrying a few essentials was enough, such as a waterproof tarp, a sleeping bag, a fire starter, rope, and some simple tools. With these, he could use available resources to temporarily construct a rudimentary yet comfortable little campsite for himself. This self-reliant survival wisdom not only allowed him to thrive during outdoor excursions but also cultivated his independent and unflappable personality.

Whether at work or in life, Ben Verhoef embodied this quality of being constantly prepared and relying on oneself. As a seasoned emergency care provider, he had to remain calm and decisive at all times, take control of the scene, and react swiftly to save lives under limited conditions. All of this perhaps stemmed from the self-reliance and composure in the face of adversity that he had honed over the years through outdoor survival experiences.

Even as time passed, Ben's love for outdoor activities never waned. Whenever he had free time, he would still pack a simple kit and venture out to the woods for a few days, temporarily escaping the hustle and bustle of city life and experiencing the hunting lifestyle of his ancestors. During these times, he would make use of every resource in the wild, building his own tents, making fires for cooking, and living a simple, back-to-basics existence. This temporary outdoor survival not only allowed him to relax physically and mentally but also served as a continuous exercise in survival wisdom.

Perhaps it was this unique outdoor experience and survival instinct that enabled Ben Verhoef to exhibit extraordinary composure and adaptability, even while living in modern urban society. These distinct survival experiences and skills were undoubtedly also a crucial reason for his outstanding performance in his work.

In the process of outdoor survival, Ben Verhoef also encountered some difficult situations, which, although challenging at the time, provided him with valuable lessons. On one occasion, he and a few friends went camping outdoors but unexpectedly fell ill, likely due to an infection from the chicken they had brought along.

The situation was exceptionally dire, with freezing temperatures compounded by severe diarrhea and frequent vomiting, causing immense suffering for the group. Although Ben, as a medical professional, had oral rehydration salts in his personal first aid kit, there were now three "victims" in need of treatment, far outnumbering the supplies he had brought.

Faced with this sudden predicament, Ben swiftly demonstrated his ability to adapt in adversity. First, he instructed everyone to avoid moving as much as possible and tightly wrapped the patients in tents and sleeping bags to prevent further loss of body heat. Next, he mobilized all available resources, even heating up the last remaining water to help the patients maintain hydration and body temperature.

At the same time, Ben began scouring the surrounding environment for any supplementary supplies. He dug into the snow, collecting small amounts of snow water; he rummaged through every backpack, checking for any remaining food or emergency supplies; he even inspected the wild plants, carefully identifying which ones might be edible.

After tremendous effort, Ben finally managed to gather enough supplies and rationally distributed them among the three patients. He also personally took charge of caring for and nursing the sick, regularly changing their clothes to prevent further drops in body temperature. In this way, with only rudimentary conditions and limited resources, Ben devised methods to care for his companions until rescue eventually arrived.

This harrowing experience once again demonstrated Ben Verhoef's exceptional composure and self-reliance in the face of adversity. It was this calm response to sudden situations, coupled with the ability to create miracles from limited resources, that ultimately saved his own life and those of his companions. This invaluable lesson would undoubtedly become a source of resilience for him in his future work and life.

In his spare time, Ben Verhoef's enthusiasm for outdoor first aid and wilderness survival remained undiminished. Although he did not directly use outdoor emergency products like Rhino in the hospital, these items were indispensable components of his everyday carry (EDC). Whether leaving for a drive or engaging in activities at home, his backpack always contained a small first aid kit, ready for any eventuality. In more permanent locations like his car trunk or kitchen and garage at home, he kept larger, more comprehensive first aid boxes.

As an experienced medical professional, Ben had a unique appreciation for the importance of proper emergency preparedness. He understood that the key to life-saving rescue in perilous situations lay in meticulous emergency planning and having ample equipment reserves. Thus, he continuously replenished and maintained these outdoor supplies in his daily life to ensure their availability at all times.

Ben Verhoef did not limit this passion to himself alone; he also hoped to impart his experiences and insights to more people. Although sometimes unable to dedicate himself to outdoor training as a young parent, whenever the opportunity arose, he still eagerly taught his friends how to prepare adequately for wilderness encounters. This included topics like how to build a comprehensive first aid kit or how to use basic tools for emergency patient care and other survival skills.

In his view, everyone should possess these fundamental outdoor first aid skills, as no one can fully predict what situations life may present. Being well-prepared not only allows for timely protection of one's own life and safety but also enables extending a helping hand to save others' lives in critical moments. As an experienced medical professional, being able to share this precious knowledge and experience was a supreme honor and a sense of accomplishment for Ben.