I Had to Survive: How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired My Calling to Save Lives

On October 13, 1972, an Uruguayan air force plane carrying members of the Old Christians rugby team—and many of their friends and family members—crashed in the Andes mountains. I Had to Survive offers a gripping and heartrending recollection of the harrowing brink-of-death experience that propelled survivor Roberto Canessa to become one of the world’s leading pediatric cardiologists.

As he tended to his wounded teammates amidst the devastating carnage, rugby player Roberto Canessa, a se…