Ellen's Condition

[cynthia23]

Good news. I visited with Ellen this afternoon and MagikWalt arrived a few minutes after me. Magikwalt brought a card and I bought a liquid substance which rhymes with deer. Ellen is in good spirits, awake, and seems to be as energetic as ever! If it weren't for her heavily bandaged leg, and frostbitten fingers, you would never know she had just spent two days in a howling windstorm with a broken leg, or had just endured hours of surgery.

She has promised to write a very thorough "trip report" herself as soon as her injured fingers allow, and I am sure she is best at telling her own (incredible) tale, but here's just the gist of what she told me: she had an uneventful ascent to the peak, made good time, and was descending in snowshoes when she hit an icy patch, lost her footing, and slid into a tree. She did not feel badly injured, but when she attempted to stand up felt severe pain and realized her ankle or leg was broken. She decided it was best to head back to the summit in hopes of finding other hikers or taking shelter in the hut. She crawled on her hands and knees and finally regained the summit, but by then it was 4.30 and it seemed best to find the hut. However, this was easier said than done and she had to crawl both up and down to find it. When she finally did, snow had packed the door, and she had to dig to gain entry. She crawled into the sleeping bag there and spent a fitful night with severe shivering from the cold. On Sunday there was severe wind and she realized a rescue was very unlikely. Her water and Gatorade had run out and she had to eat snow. Rations at the cabin were not exactly plentiful--crackers, sardines, and some cream of mushroom soup which she had to pry open with her jackknife. On Monday morning she heard the rescue copter and then had to frantically dig herself out of the cabin in order to signal her presence. They saw her and told her to stay put, then returned and winched her out.

These are just the bare bones of the story. It is an incredible tale of courage and calmness which Ellen modestly denies. I just can't imagine having a broken leg and crawling through the snow for FOUR HOURS trying to find a shelter and somehow remaining calm and not panicking, nor can I imagine spending two lonely, freezing, pain-filled nights in that cabin. Ellen says she just made up her mind to survive and that was it. This whole thing is a lesson to us all that SPIRIT has a big part to play in wilderness survival. Ellen did much better than some others did that same weekend on the mountain, who were much bigger, stronger, younger, and male As the saying goes, It Ain't the Size of the Dog in the Fight, it's the size of the Fight in the Dog!

Ellen feels that the big mistake she made was not bringing a cell phone or personal locator. (she also regrets not having crampons.) This whole thing has made me think I will invest the money in a personal locator. For people who sometimes hike alone, it may be the wisest investment of one's life.

I plan to visit Ellen again this evening and will report back. She welcomes visitors but would rather not receive multiple phone calls (I am sure she will make an exception though for old friends.)

Thank God for Ellen! And thank you, God, for Ellen!

[AlanK]

Great report, Cynthia! A lot of us out here were dying to hear how Ellen was doing.

And, yes, this does put a whole new perspective on PLB discussions. I have been patiently waiting for prices to go down, but one needs to be served only so many motivational tales before realizing that there is no time like the present.

Of course, one should also re-evaluate hiking alone under various conditions. It there is a choice between PLB and not-hiking alone, I choose PLB. My wife, however...

Whoever out there in the Great Inland Empire who sees Ellen next -- please give her greetings from the legions that followed her story closely.

I had a couple of second thoughts the other night about "Dead Blond Hiking" but I suppose she has earned the right to use it if she likes. If she wrrites a book on her adventures, in the spirit of Touching the Void she can use Blond in the Void royalty-free.

[beastie]

What an adventure that was for Ellen; good to know she's safely resting. Thanks for the update Cynthia!

[Cy Kaicener]

I phoned Ellen and we spoke for half an hour. She was very happy to see the message board hikers like Walt, Perry, Cynthia etc. She said that if they want to write a book about this she wants Cynthia to do it. Our message board posts that she may be holed up at the summit hut helped Search and Rescue locate her. She chuckled at how many visitors have visited the SJ message board since Saturday - something like 5000 I think. I mentioned bringing over a lap top computer but forgot that her fingers are all bandaged up. I hope to go down there soon. She will have to use a walker for a while.

[cynthia23]

Wednesday morning update: I visited with Ellen again last night. Also present were our very own Grandmaster P and a certain shy lurker who visits this board but doesn't post--you know who you are!

I bought Ellen more "liquid bread" which she chugged while chatting on the phone with Jim Bakos from RMRU, who (I think it is safe for me to say this) was impressed by Ellen's tenacity and survival skills. Ellen is in good spirits, perfectly lucid, and so energetic that the nurse had great trouble getting her to sit still to take her temperature. I got more details on Ellen's injury--she has a fractured tibia (I think) which was pinned during surgery--it may require further "work" a few months down the road, but she will fully recover. The frostbite on her fingers is not severe, luckily, and she will only lose skin, not digits. It's amazing it is not more severe considering that she was forced to crawl on her hands and knees in snow for four hours. To increase the blood flow, Ellen is still receiving supplemental oxygen. She will most probably be in the hospital until Thursday.

The more I hear of the story, the more I am in awe. When Ellen described crawling uphill for hours-- and then realizing she'd gone too far north and having to crawl DOWN and then UP again to find the cabin, and almost not finding it in the heavy snow and gathering darkness, and knowing she would die if she didn't find it and not allowing herself to panic--or lying on the cabin bunk in the howling wind and dark while her injured, swollen leg began having agonizing muscle contractions--I realized she had been through an experience few modern people, outside of soldiers like MagikWalt, ever have any more--survival at its most basic. I just can't imagine how she kept her sanity during this terrifying ordeal. While Ellen is the most psychologically sturdy person I know, we should all remember she has been through a true trauma, and be there for her emotionally during the coming months. I am sure she will appreciate your warmth and support. I know she has been very touched by the outpouring of concern expressed by board members. "The only time I almost cried during this whole thing," she told me, "is when I heard about how many people had been flooding the board looking for info or to help."

I'll post again tomorrow. Many thanks to you all for your help and info and caring. Keep the love coming!

[AlanK]

Cynthia -- thanks for the update. Great report. The story gets more and more amazing. If Ellen does not own Touching the Void we need to make sure she gets both the book and the DVD.

[guest]

Thanks for doing this Cynthia, it's all amazing, especially her grit, but I think many knew she had that, (just look back at the "Attach of Manzanita" photo from the Tamarack ordeal!

Give her my best, I may stop by today,

ss

[beastie]

Thanks Cynthia! All the best for Ellen!

[halhiker]

Thank you for the update! Our prayers and thoughts continue for Ellen's recovery.

[cynthia23]

Thursday morning update: I visited with Ellen yesterday and then again this morning. SS and Zip also visited last night, and Ellen told me she greatly enjoyed seeing them--she was meeting SS for the first time and he got to hear the (funny, in retrospect) story of how Ellen was almost driven to distraction during her ordeal in the cabin by her own hypothermic shivering, which was so severe that it caused the wooden bunk bed to rattle loudly all night long.

Today I am happy to report that Ellen looks much better--no longer on supplemental oxygen, and the swelling has gone down in her face and legs. She looks much more like her old self. However, the frostbitten fingers are still concerning the trauma doctor, and they will probably continue to keep her in the hospital until at least Saturday. As for her broken leg--yesterday Ellen "hiked" around the ward in a walker (probably outrunning her nurse/keeper) and already she has begun bugging the PT to allow her to "Upgrade" to crutches. While I was visiting this morning, the nurses were changing the dressings on her knees, and I got to actually see what knees look like when they've been crawling in snow for four hours--blackened, bruised, swollen to the size of grapefruits, and badly blistered. They were quite a sight--or, as our beloved tram car audio says, "a visible testament" to Ellen's "solid granite core."

Ellen loves visitors, so feel free to drop by during regular hours (8am to 8pm.) Even if you only "know" her through the board, like SS, Ellen is very pleased to meet new MSJ message board friends, so don't be shy to pop by and say hi. She keeps telling me how much the members of this board feel like her big extended family. Just ask for Ellen Coleman's room number at the front desk.

I will report again tomorrow .....