Part....oh whatever. The rest of the story......
Current mood: cheerful

So, no bucket....is that where I left off?

So, no bucket and the bird is back to circling again. I look up at Heidi and she is white and terrified. She looks pretty alone, and I want her to know she is not, so I touch her cheek to get her attention. She looks at me and I can see she is afraid. I say, "Heidi, it's going to be okay. Don't worry." She just says, "I'm so afraid of the pain."

And I know she is. She's been reasonably comfortable and she knows what is about to happen will likely be more painful than anything that's happened yet. In fact while we were waiting for anyone to show up we talked about what was going to happen.

At the time I wanted to be clear about what was coming. It had been so calm for so long and I knew that was going to change. I told her it was going to be noisy and that a lot would be going on when the helicopter finally arrived. We talked about the importance of staying calm.

And she said....."I can't wait to get home tonight so that I can watch a movie and eat ice cream."

I said, "You aren't going to go home tonight Heidi. It's pretty unlikely." Just the truth.....

So anyway.

Eventually, the bird lands up on the ridgeline and kind of maintains a hover there while a bunch of guys jump out. The medic comes down and starts asking a bunch of questions...

You know...the standards. Name, age, what happened? Did you lose conciousness?

He sees the traction rig-up and asks her if traction is more comfortable. She says yes and he pulls out his traction splint. It was a bad-ass splint, way cooler than my MacGuyver rig, but hey, when you're in a pinch you get creative.

So when he goes to put on the splint, he starts to unwrap my rig and Heidi stops him and says, "Can you just cut it off?"

He says, "Sure." and goes to cut it off, but before he does I grab her foot....cause I know as soon as he cuts that thing shes going to be in pain again. Her foot is just going to flop over cause I didn't put any kind of stabilizing splint onto it. When I do this, he looks at me and says, "Good idea, keep traction on it." And from there on I assist him in traction and splinting.

Once the splint is on, we heave her into a litter. I get the head position, and that is the lead position, so I count off the lift. We begin to carry her up this steep rocky slope and Heidi's normal frame starts to feel like twice her weight. These guys on the sides of her are all much bigger and faster than me and eventually I have to tell them to slow down or I'm going to drop her head.

That would be bad.

So they slow down and one of the guys starts telling me where the big rocks are and when I need to watch my step.

Cause I can't watch my step, Heidi is in the way. Anyhow, we get Heidi into the Blackhawk, and they secure her.



Once she's stable and secure, Cody and I back up and crouch down to stay low and get ready for the rotor wash.



And all of the sudden, she's gone.

And I pretty much collapse in tears coupled with mild hyperventilation.

And I look at Peter and Cody and say, "That was fucking crazy!"

The rest was pretty much a blur. The bird blew my shades off my face and we looked around for those for a bit, but all I really wanted to do was leave. I couldn't carry my stuff, and the boys were great about carrying my gear, Heidi's gear and taking care of the dogs.

We had to hike down the mountain. It was a long hike.

I was exhausted and I tripped and stumbled alot.

But to make a long, long story short.....

Heidi ended up needing a titanium rod placed in her tibia to stabilize her leg. She is getting better now and is looking forward to getting her bandages and splint removed in a few days. She will then progress to a bootie. She will not be able to bear weight on her leg for two months and is looking at about six to eight months of rehab.

Sidenote: I didn't say much about Peter, but he came up with Cody. He was there to help and I know he wanted to help in the worst way, but I pretty much had it covered and Cody was Heidi's moral support. Peter did however take care of my dogs and helped to provide me with moral support on the hike and later when I needed to talk.

Thanks Peter. I hope I can return the favor....maybe in a less traumatic situation.

And thanks to Cody too. I called you first cause I knew you'd run up the mountain for both of us. I'd run up a mountain for you too.

Sidenote two: There is a lot of the story that didn't make it into this blog. Smaller details....stories Heidi and I told each other, ways we kept ourselves occupied and distracted....thoughts that ran through my head.

I can't really tell you all of that. Mostly because I can't remember all of it and partially because there was so much of it. I can't really even put into words what it feels like to be in this situation....one on one with someone with someone who is painfully in need in a remote situation. I hope none of you have to feel what I felt but if you do, you may walk away a little amazed with yourself and a little stronger for the experience.

I do have to say, PLEASE, if you put yourself into these situations, don't feel stupid cause you go prepared for anything. Cause you will feel stupid when something happens if you aren't prepared.

Oh yea....I did say it was the worst WEEK of my life didn't I.

I can't really type out the rest of the story but when you see me ask me for the details.

In Short:

My truck payment came out of my bank account twice by accident, virtually consuming my entire current paycheck.

Some guy, who was visiting a co-worker who shall remain nameless basically was drunk and trying to hit on me. He sort of cornered me and made me pretty uncomfortable at one point. My friend told him to go take a walk and he disappeared until the next day. That day I got into my truck to go into town and the seat was wet.

Thought maybe Peter had left the window open and it had rained. I was too tired to drive after the accident, and Peter had returned my truck to Lowell Point. Then I remembered it had been sunny for days. Then I touched my seat and smelled my hand.

Piss. It was fucking piss. Someone had pissed on my seat and floor.

Fast forward: After my truck had dried I got into it to go to town and it wouldn't start.

It's a pretty new truck, still under warranty.

Ended up having to get it towed to Soldotna where the nearest Ford dealership is located.....100 miles away.

They called and said a fuel pump relay had been pulled.

Wait a minute....that guy?!

He is a diesel mechanic....He pissed in my truck and then pulled a relay. Cause I shot him down.

I'm pretty sure I have never

ever

ever

met someone so lame in my life.

Ever.

So my friend called his friend who had gone home by now and the guy fessed up.

What a jerk.

Well, my truck is fixed. Still smells like piss. But my friend gave me some money for the repair and to have the truck detailed. He is getting paid back by his friend.

So, it was a shitty week.

Coming soon: Good stories about fun things.

Really!