But the window of opportunity to get me out was now. Shemenski said, hours after a Twin Otter propeller plane carried him from Antarctica to Chile on Thursday. He would have preferred to tough it out at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station he left behind. But in an interview with The Associated Press, Shemenski acknowledged that it would have been dangerous to stay on. He was diagnosed with inflammation of the pancreas.
Pancreatitis can happen when a gallstone passes down the bile duct, irritating the pancreas.
It is potentially life-threatening. I wasn't sure what was going on. Doctors in the United States helped make a diagnosis that he had a gall bladder attack. Rescuers decided to chance a risky trip before worse weather set in, making the Pole unreachable. Shemenski was the only physician among 50 researchers working there - his replacement was brought in by his rescuers.