Zion’s. It’s HOT. 102 degrees I think.
Our first hike of the day is to the Lower Emerald Pool.
It’s shady there. cool. A pathetic version of a waterfall is trickling off the edge of the overhang above our heads, and we are walking behind the water.
We venture on to the Middle Pool and then to the Upper Pool.
The shortest way to end our hike is to go back the way we came, so we go back to the Middle Pool and then on to the lower one again. There’s sand everywhere. It’s hard to hike in the sand. My knees are killing me, and I. am. hot. As we get closer to the Lower Pool again I’m excited for the shade and to be able to touch the cool water. The boys want their picture taken in various places. They are happy to be able to cool off. I ask Darrin if he got many pics of the “falls”, and he proceeds to take some. I touch the cool water running down a nearby rock. I rub the water on my neck and arms. Then I lean over the fence to touch the “waterfall.” I am aware that Luke is just to the left of me.
All of the sudden I feel the world falling on me.
Rock and dirt cover my body, and I feel intense pain on the top of my head. At the same time I hear myself scream. I’ve never considered myself a screamer, but I guess in situations like this you can’t control it. I can’t remember exactly what I said when I screamed, but Darrin tells me it was something like “Darrin take Luke.” I remember being very aware that Luke was near me, and I wanted Darrin to keep him safe. After the dust settles I look around and see people running toward me. Some other hikers were coming down the trail and saw the rock fall. yes. a rock. They tell me that a piece of wet sandstone from the overhang, about 30-40 feet up, fell on me. The rock was 12 inches by 12 inches and a couple inches thick. It broke when it hit my head. The group around me starts to evaluate my wounds and tries to decide what to do next. I ask Darrin how I look and he says I look like I just walked out of a horror movie; I’m sure I did with the rock, dirt, and blood all over me. One of the men offers to run ahead and get help, but at this point I start to go into shock. I’m shaking all over, and I can feel blood running down my face. Embarrassed, I tell everyone I’m fine and feel like I’d be better off if I start walking. As we leave, I look back at the pile of broken rocks where I once stood.
We start walking down the trail. My head is throbbing and tears are streaming down my checks for 2 reasons. My head HURTS, and I’m grateful to my Heavenly Father that it was me that got hit and not one of the kids…especially Luke, because he was so close to me. With all the adrenaline running through my body, I walk as fast as I can down the 1/2 mile path to Zion’s Lodge. Most of the blood and injury was on the right side of my head, so I try to stay on the right side of the path, so I won’t scare anyone. I don’t make eye contact with anyone, and I try to look super unfriendly to keep the attention off of me. Darrin carries Luke the whole way and the other boys walk super fast and don’t complain once. I’m sure they were scared.
We make it to lodge and the workers call for a medic. Paul, the ranger/medic, finally arrives and looks me over. He calls for another medic, and together they give me my options. I need to go to the ER…I can go in an ambulance, or Darrin can drive me. I ask them what they think I should do, and they agree that you can never be too safe with a head injury, and they recommend I go in the ambulance. So they call for an ambulance, and we wait forever for the parks only ambulance to arrive. It seems to take forever, and I remember thinking, “Good thing I’m not dying cause they are being soooo slow.” Once the ambulance comes, I walk out to it and medic in there evaluates me and gives me the same options, but recommends I go in the ambulance.
Darrin and the kids are outside waiting for the ambulance to leave. As they are waiting, one of the witnesses finds Darrin and shows him some of the pictures he had taken of the scene. The ambulance finally leaves and starts the 45 minute drive to St. George. We had a ranger escort in the front and the back. Max, the ranger, drives Darrin and the boys in a ranger car to our van which is parked in Springdale. Once at the hospital, the ER doctor decides I’m in pretty good shape. I have a 4-5 cuts on my head, but only one of them needs staples. It’s about an inch and a half long and pretty deep. The nurse cleans it out and doc staples it….it hurts A LOT!!! Afterward they let me take a shower to wash the blood and dirt out of my hair. The shower feels great, but it’s really hard to wash your hair with staples in it. We get released and then go to Chuck-a-Rama for dinner just like nothing ever happened. I’m so grateful for the safety we were blessed with that day. It could have been so much worse. The next day my right shoulder is very sore…and days later bruises appear outlining the back pack strap. Somehow I think that back pack saved me from further injury. And I am thankful still.
(Don’t scroll too far down if you don’t want to see a picture of the staples!)
