Yes it was a great ride, my first actually! It was
so beautiful. I was pleased my newbie horse (and myself) did so well on
the ride. My knees were a tad sore after about 20+ miles, but gotta start
somewhere. Unfortunately, in the last 5-10 miles we (Scott, Ginger
and myself) came across all the folks on the single trail, stating that there
had been an injury. Scott ran down to see if he could help, he quickly
returned and "reminded" me that oh yeah, your the nurse you should go.
Well, I am glad I was there. Marcia had certainly had a horrible
fall. I was greeted by one rider who was shading her from the sun, thank
you for that. Marcia was in and out of consciousness. It surely felt
like forever till we heard the helicopter, during that time I just tried to keep
her awake and told her where she was and who I was. The emergency crew had
a difficult time finding a clearing to land, and ended up
just dropping the guys down and they hicked it up to us. We
stabilized her neck (as that was one of the few things she was able to tell
me) with a cervical collar and transported her to a board and then strapped her
down to be lifted into the helicopter. Thank God there was another male
rider in the area, and of course I screamed for Scott, we all lifted her to
an open area and she was lifted with the medic into the helicopter and off
to Henry Mayo, the closest trauma unit. It felt as though we were on that
trail for hours. We returned home on Sunday morning, and I felt the need
to head to Henry Mayo just to let her know she was being thought about, and
maybe fill in the gaps for ?family. She had had surgery for an
intercranial bleed Saturday eve, and was in the ICU when I arrived. I
talked some with the nurse on duty, she stated that she was stable and was still
pending another MRI and CT scan, they were hopeful that the left sided weakness
would resolve. I poked my head in her room and she woke up for just a
short time and I told her who I was and wished her the best. No family was
there as I had hoped, I hope the hospital was successful and contacting
family.
I must admit I am really hoping my next ride is
less eventful, I volunteered at Hog Wild and was there when Tim's horse went
down.
My husband keeps asking if
this "endurance thing" is really a good idea? I keep telling him how
wonderful it is.
I hope those that know Marcia will keep me posted
on her outcome, I will be thinking of her often.
Thanks to Vern and Marge for the great location. We
were spoiled and actually stayed in one of the cottages. I have been told
by almost everyone that this is NOT the norm, so I look forward to roughin' it
on the next ride!
What a beautiful ride! Thanks
to Marge and Vern for their hospitality. Aside from a badly tweaked ankle/foot
and on a rather hard-hitting horse, Magic and I had a terrific time for our
first ride after 13 months of my lay-up.
On another note, does anyone
have an update on Marcia? She has been in our prayers all weekend, and in
addition, it certainly reminds us of how easily something can happen - I had
noticed with great relief that she had a helmet on anyway.
It was also
a reminder of the stalwart quality of this sport at its best that, not only
did a crowd of folks wait with her until she was airlifted out, but, with rare
exception, the lot of us went down the mountain then as a group, sobered but
not down, thoughtful and taking it all to heart. Thank you for that oneness
that lifts one's spirit - that people CAN, when moved, rise to caring and
concern rather than selfishness. I was proud of our sport, each person who was
there, and ultimately the spirit of the day. Thank you all - and please,
anyone who knows how she is doing, let us all know, and also what we can do if
anything.