By Endurance We Conquer

By Carol Zernial on July 13th, 2020

Carol Zernial visits the Shackleton Exhibit at the National Geographic Society in 1998. Courtesy photo

We are entering our fifth month of sheltering in our homes because of COVID-19. My mind automatically goes to one of my heroes, Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer who survived two years stranded in the South Pole. In 1915, his ship, the HMS Endurance, became caught in ice in an unusually cold year where the seas should have still been clear. The ship was trapped in the ice for 10 months before it was crushed and sank. The 28 men on board had to escape to a huge ice floe that drifted for five months – an ice floe that shrank and shattered as time passed.

Cracks opened up under tents; camps had to be changed with desperate speed; and killer whales were cruising in the open water.

They had no communication with the outside world at all. No one knew of their plight. No one was looking for them. No help was coming. And they were 800 miles across the sea from the nearest whaling outpost with only three tiny lifeboats salvaged from the ship. The ocean around them was the stormiest in the world – on a good day.

How would they survive? Ernest Shackleton’s family motto was By Endurance We Conquer. This motto was the namesake for the ship. Shackleton was an amazing leader who can still teach us all a few things about enduring the most difficult of situations.

First, he kept everyone busy with a regular schedule. Successful caregivers have long known that keeping a regular schedule is essential for caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease. The structure also works best for children, and for giving others a sense of security by knowing what to expect. He made alternative preparations for any eventualities. We need to as well. What happens to the person receiving care if the care partner contracts COVID, is hospitalized, can no longer provide care, or even dies? Do we have a plan? Do we know the medical wishes of the person receiving care? Does someone know ours?

Shackleton included fun, games and special treats to keep spirits up. I can attest firsthand that my spirit has been flagging recently with the steady rise of cases. Chocolate cake, popcorn and lime sherbet are treats around my house. Laughs have to be a part of any healthy life, so we binge-watch shows that make us smile. Shackleton also knew the importance of looking ahead to better times. One night, they all sat around in their tents with whale blubber lamps, pouring over maps and planning their next expedition to Alaska! There were new adventures in their future.

Shackleton had enormous patience. His men complained regularly, and he had little to offer. But he listened and took their feelings to heart at all times. Shackleton carefully monitored the physical and mental health of the crew without letting them know when he became concerned. He would provide a bit of extra rations, more rest, and an extra layer of warmth without calling it out. He knew that if any person lost hope, they were doomed.

So how does this end? The ice floe finally disintegrates and the men are forced to take to the three now-overloaded lifeboats. For seven days, in 17 hours of darkness each day, they navigated the churning and grinding ice floes to land upon a desolate speck of nearby land called Elephant Island. Shackleton left 22 on that outcrop. He took the three “troublemakers,” realizing they could bring down the morale of the group, and his two best men – a brilliant navigator and an amazing engineer to keep things together.

In one small open-air boat fitted with a sail and rocks to keep them from capsizing, they spent 16 stormy days surviving a hurricane with 20-foot waves, and landed on south Georgia – but on the opposite side of the island from where help could be found. Shackleton, the navigator and the engineer – exhausted and starving – had to hike over the mountains to the whaling station 36 hours away. Shackleton only let them sleep for 30 minutes en route so they wouldn’t freeze to death, but telling them they had slept several hours. Through leadership, sheer determination and endurance, they made it. The other men were rescued from Elephant Island. Not one man was lost.

This story always inspires me. As I compare their dire circumstances to today’s troubling times, I am comforted that we are not alone in our plight. We share our concerns with the world – and scientists from across the globe are looking for answers. But like Shackleton, we have to get our own group through this trial in our small corner. This means enduring this COVID situation while caregiving, creating a day-to-day schedule, planning for the unexpected, incorporating fun and maintaining the physical and mental health of everyone. If Shackleton could succeed over 100 years ago, then we can do this. By endurance we conquer.

If you wish to learn more about Ernest Shackleton’s amazing journey, I recommend the first-hand account by F.A. Worsley, the captain of the HMS Endurance who served as navigator, “Shackleton’s Boat Journey.” It is a thrilling tale written from his diary 1914-1916.

WellMed Charitable Foundation Executive Director Carol Zernial is a noted gerontologist, radio show host, and emeritus Chair of the National Council on Aging. The non-profit WellMed Charitable Foundation focuses on complimentary programs impacting seniors and family caregivers, including weekly telephone learning sessions, evidence-based classes on stress reduction and more. Find out more at CaregiverSOS.org or toll-free at 1-866-390-6491.