My husband, adult daughter, and I were on evening two of a five-day backpacking trip around the Sisters Loop when I started to feel very weird. Before long, I was shaking uncontrollably and could barely speak. My daughter knew quickly that we were going to need some help, found cell service (lucky us!), and called 911.
She was put in touch with the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Team and THIRTEEN of those fine souls made their way miles up the mountain to find us. They provided on-scene medical care and decided to extricate me from that mountain.
It took hours in the dark, but these amazing people did it. They carried me unconscious miles and miles and miles over rocks, creeks, downed trees, and winding pathways. They brought me to an ambulance which took me to a helicopter and on to the St. Charles Hospital.
Here I am alive to tell you about this today. Our story could have turned out very differently if it weren’t for this team of angels.
As I reflect back, I am deeply grateful, of course, for the medical care and bad-assness the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Team provided for me. I also feel deeply aware of and grateful for the emotional care they provided my husband and daughter while all this was happening and I was so out of it.
This was a traumatic experience for all of us. These incredible people not only saved my life but provided a safe container for my husband and kid to begin the slog of processing through this unexpected turn of events.
Our story has a good ending. A great one! I am alive and well today. We made it out together. We had an experience unlike anything we ever expected and all lived to tell the tale.
Thank you to the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Team for your commitment to the volunteer work you do out there in those mountains. You save people’s lives all the time. Wow. I am in awe of all of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.