Survival seemed impossible after a contractor suffered cardiac arrest at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station—where no one had survived such an event in 35 years. In -35°C temps and blizzard conditions, medics from McMurdo, the NSF, and the U.S. Air Force revived him with CPR and eight defibrillator shocks. Airmen from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 187th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron stabilized him, then teamed with a New Zealand crew for a daring 2,500-mile flight. Against all odds, he survived. In the most remote place on Earth, readiness made the difference.