Have You Saved Someone's Life?
Tell us your story. Here's one memorable event:
On Fourth of July weekend at Lake Colchuck, we awoke to six inches of snow. With freezing high winds, it was sleeting sideways. Mountains create their own weather.
Hiking out in the storm, my boyfriend and I came upon a Forest Service ranger lying beside the trail. Dressed in a wet T-shirt and shorts, she was shivering violently and gasping for air. Her mother-in-law dithered around uselessly.
“Why can’t she breathe?” I asked. “She forgot her asthma inhaler and a jacket,” her mother-in-law replied.
Quickly I gave her two puffs from my emergency asthma inhaler (always in my pack). Although the ranger could breathe, she had hypothermia. I dragged her under a tree to get out of the storm. Asked my boyfriend to boil water and shield her from onlookers.
I pulled extra clothes from my pack. She was about my size. Quickly I pulled off the ranger’s wet clothes. I dressed her in long underwear, rain pants, a turtleneck, sweater and down jacket. Made her a makeshift raincoat from a large plastic sack. Gave her my hat and gloves, since I had a hood.
Pouring hot tea down her throat, we fed her candy for energy. Although she was reviving, she was still groggy and stumbling. Two teenage boys came running up the trail.
“Do you guys have a cell phone?” I asked. “This woman is in serious medical trouble. She has hypothermia. Please run back down toward the trail head. As soon as you get a signal, call 911 and ask for an ambulance. Tell them we will meet the ambulance at the trail head in 2-1/2 hours.”
Off they went. Nice boys.
I had her mother-in-law carry my pack. Holding the ranger’s arms over our shoulders, we carefully sidestepped down the steep, rocky trail. There was a sharp drop-off on one side of the trail. The ambulance was waiting at the trail head.
“Can I get your name and address?” the mother-in-law asked as the ranger was being tended in the ambulance.
Later, I got a beautiful letter from that ranger. She returned my clothes.
“Thank you for saving my life,” she wrote. “I thought I could run up to Lake Colchuck like I do every day. I knew better than to go unprepared. I feel embarrassed to tell my work colleagues what a stupid thing I did. I will never forget your kindness.”
Photo: Lake Colchuck (6,000 feet) with Dragontail Peak (9,000 feet) behind me. August 2010.
30
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
37 comments (26 - 37)
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.
Stopped a couple of idiot kids from running out into traffic and once,when we were driving home,came upon a multi-car crash.Nobody was injured but one shook up teenage girl was standing between her starting to burn car and the concrete median wall,talking hysterically to her dad.Crawling by,I saw the flames shooting out from the buckled hood and very calmly (which is the part that amazes me)I thought -there's fire,I have an extinguisher in the trunk,I should pull over and help. So I pulled onto the shoulder,got the extinguisher out of the trunk,went across a lane of slow traffic and put the fire out. Left the extinguisher with her(I could hear sirens close by so I knew I didn't needto staybut told her not to stand near burning cars anymore. All the time she was on the phone"And now the car's burning ! Oh wait,some man put it out. Thank you". Possibly not the most dangerous thing in the world but nice to know I could deal and not freak out.
RonWilliam53
Level 7
July 9, 2018
2
I may have. Due to the nature of my job I can be suspicious of older men who approach children that aren’t family. While in the YMCA men’s locker room I heard a young boy trying to figure out how to use the device for wringing our swim trunks when an older man approached him. I finished dressing and moved in their direction to leave. The boy saw me and ran. The older man turned and saw me then went back to the lockers. Maybe it was nothing or something inside me was alerted to a possible predator, who knows?
Snedge
Level 4
July 7, 2018
2
Yes I had... still in high school, not yet 18, me and my wingman buddy saved the life of a 28 yr old american junkie in Puerto Rico from Heroin Overdose Death... about circa 1971 We came to visit him and he opened the door let me in and just hit the floor. His gf freaked out not knowing what to do... We gave him an intravenous shot of salt water and put his nuts on ice. The Skills you learn when you are hanging out in The Ghetto and there are junkie students in your school telling stories... you listen.
GipsyOfNewSpain
Level 9
July 7, 2018
1
I once saved an office full of people from an explosion...Not really. I saved a bird once...No, not really. (hangs head in shame) I've never saved any beings in my life (full on snotty-nosed sobbing).
Hermit
Level 7
July 7, 2018
2
@Hermit
That's hilarious! At age 12, I saved my little brother when he fell through the ice. Have always stayed calm in a crisis.
Wow! If I ever hike in the mountains it will be with you. Not trying to get personal here but I would not be prepared, not like that. I am not an idiot, just like to make sure I will get back. Thanks for the picture.
dalefvictor
Level 8
July 7, 2018
1
Absolutely - thousands of times. In fact many times every day.
I'm driving my car. There is a curve in the road. There are pedestrians on the pavement. I turn the steering wheel to follow the course of the road.
My actions - turning the wheel - directly avoid my car mounting the pavement and killing those people. If I had not taken that action, they would have died.
ToakReon
Level 8
July 7, 2018
0
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.