The story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi is one that I find strangely comforting.
He is probably one of the greatest examples of how you can get in the cr*ppiest of situations, and yet still carry on regardless.
Mr Yamaguchi was an employee of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when he had to go to Hiroshima on business.
Unfortunately, this business commitment coincided with the Enola Gay dropping its ‘Little Boy’ payload on the city at 08:15 am on the 6th August 1945.
Yamaguchi recalls seeing the bomber and two small parachutes before there was “a great flash in the sky, and I was blown over”.
The explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him temporarily, and left him with serious burns over the left side of his body.
Once his injuries from the first Atomic bomb were patched up he was able to return to his native city.
At this point, you might be thinking that he was a very lucky man…
…that is until you realise his home was in the city Nagasaki!
Yep, the poor Mr Yamaguchi almost literally jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
If you know your history, you will know that 3 days later, the second atomic bomb was dropped…on Nagasaki!
Despite being heavily bandaged, he wasn’t one to bunk off work, so on 9th August, Yamaguchi was at work in Nagasaki, describing to a doubting supervisor what he had witnessed just three days ago.
The supervisor’s qualms about the story were pretty much quashed when the American bomber Bockscar dropped the ‘Fat Man’ atomic bomb over the city.
His workplace put Yamaguchi just 3 km from ground zero, but incredibly, this time he was unhurt by the explosion…
…Although he WAS almost finished off by the fact there were no clean bandages to replace the ones he had on his burns and so he suffered a severe fever for many days.
But his name was just not on the grim reapers list and so he made a full recovery.
It wasn’t until 2010, at the grand old age of 93 that Mr Yamaguchi decided it was his time to go.
What a man.
If he can get through not one, but two atomic blasts AND a severe fever, it makes me think we can get through the relatively minor challenges we face on a day to day basis.
So the next time you are having a sh*tty day, just remember Tsutomu Yamaguchi and think if he can get through what he went through, you are pretty likely to survive your situation, no matter how final it seems at the moment.
Have a great day and focus on the positives in your life…there will be some no matter how well they are hidden at the moment.
