Russell is a special person. I am psychologically incapable of doing the things he does. I really, truly admire him. The Russell godfather story really broke me up too.
My wife and I raised 4 kids. When our first was 6 months old, I witnessed a 10 year-old boy die in a dumb little accident on a quad. I tried to help the boy, but he was dead and there was nothing else I could do. I felt so helpless. That incident made me paranoid the rest of my life. When I got home, I took one look at my little boy, and I just hoped with all of my heart that nothing ever happens to this precious little boy. I love kids so much, that I can't handle the thought of a child suffering or dying. Some of my friends knew the parents of that 10 year-old boy, and his death ruined their lives. The father lost his job and NEVER worked again...became an alcoholic and died 10 years later. The mom somewhat picked up the slack, but the family eventually fell apart. They had 4 other children, and it completely ruined their childhood.
The entire time my wife and I raised our kids, I was constantly paranoid that something could happen to one of my kids. Nothing really bad ever happened, but even though they are now ages 27-35, I still worry about them every day. One of my greatest hopes in life is that all 4 of my kids are there to bury me. I know for a fact that I still couldn't mentally handle the loss of any of my kids. I would competely fall apart forever.
I now have 2 granddaughters, and the cycle is already repeating itself. I love these 2 little girls so much, that I know deep down inside, I simply could never handle it if anything happened to them. I feel like crying when they get a cold.
I never could do what Russell did with those people. I would take one look at that girl laying there, and I would just start bawling. I don't know if it's a flaw in my character, or if for some reason, I just have too much compassion for sick people.
One of my daughters is a medical assistant (one year from being an actual nurse), and I'm so proud of her. She is just as compassionate as I am, but she's able to actually help sick people without losing it. I feel like I would just be a downer for the families...you can't go into a room to try to help people and then do nothing but cry. I sure am a softie.