Date: 2016-06-27
From: Albany Med Center NY

To: Albany Med Center NY
Miles today: 0.7

Congdon Shelter to Goddard Shelter   - God had other plans for us !!We woke with the songs of the birds. (God's alarm clock) We weren't in a big hurry to get going this morning, laid there until about 5:30-5:45. It's a butterfly morning, warm & sunny. Breakfast was our eggs, tomatoes & mushrooms with cheese. We ate the eggs, but prefer the oatmeal! We both are very sore this morning. Feet and legs. Moonbeam has been caring for a sore IT band. Massage & Icy Hot rub. We hit the trail a bit before 7 am. Crossing over Stage Coach Rd and then .2 north of the road Moonbeam slipped on a tree root and fell to the right. The area was flattish, but Vermont is notorious for mud and we did trudge thru mud prior to the fall. So....the fall! I heard a crack mid fall and started screaming....and my leg was bent under me and my left leg. Big Cypress started to calm me down by telling me I may not have broke a bone, it could have been a muscle or tendon. We gingerly moved the R leg out from under the left. The pain was excruciating, but subsided quickly. I never broke a bone before, but saw one and bones were broken through the skin and that's NOT what I had. So....I believed Big that it may not be broken and since the pain let up....We laid there a lil bit. Babbit came upon us, asked if we needed help and we assured him we were ok and he moved on. After about a hour, we decided to see if I could move. Nope!! Not without screaming bloody murder!! So.....now it's time for professional help. Big called 911 after getting our GPS coordinates. The emergency crew had a hard time finding us, only until two men, Jeremiah & Shawn, out for a ATV ride, and knows the area helped the crew find us. Big also went to the road .2 miles south and put a big stick and stick arrows on the ground. We put my rain jacket under me and Big Cypress pulled his down bag out and covered me. I started shivering and Big was scared I was going into shock. I also took a couple sips of water and ate 2 Snickers bars, while we waited.Jeremiah & Shawn, the local guys arrived first. At 11:19 am, Phillip, Kyle & Glen arrived right behind them. The helicopter flew over us a few times. I said "that better not be for us", thinking, it's not broken and a helicopter & crew are coming and all I have is a sprain or something!! Phillip & Kyle said that my femur was fractured! I asked how they knew that?!? Since Big had said it wasn't and again, bones weren't sticking out. They said "it's obviously deformed". From my position, my thigh just looked swollen. So....come to find out, Big knew it was most likely broken, but was trying to keep me calm and avoiding going into shock. Well, pain meds were given to me. Then the painful pulling & traction rod placed on my leg! The, as my sister called them, knights in shining armor carried me down the wet, muddy, root & rock trail. Through a small stream too! For what seemed forever. I was put into an ambulance for a 5-10 drive to the helicopter. Where Dwayne & Scott & the pilot with the big mustache took me to Albany Medical Center in Albany NY, after a 12 minute flight. I was lying down, so couldn't see a thing. I'm still thanking God for holding back the rain. It started to rain just as I was being put into the helicopter. Big was taken to the fire station, where he was offered, food, shower, bed to sleep if needed. Then, they asked him if he wanted to sit & wait until they could get him to the hospital or if he wanted to run errands/calls. He went with the later. The fire chief ended up bringing Big to the hospital and arriving just about 10-15 minutes before my surgery. The Dr said he was going to make 2 or 3 small incisions ( knee & hip ) and put a steel rod into my femur. Yes...Inside of it!! So after 2 sleeps in the hospital, I was released and on a plane homeward bound on Wednesday night. Thank you so very much to: the Bennington Rural Fire Department, Bennington Rescue Squad, Glenn, Phillip, Kyle, Jeremiah, & Shawn, the Helicopter crew, Dwayne, Scott, and the pilot (we didn't catch his name) and everyone that assisted and/or was on the scene and helped us!! Thank you to everyone at Albany Medical Center, Dr. Czajka, my surgeon, Nurse Will and all the ER staff that cared for me. Ashley, Michele, Fred, Christie, Shana and everyone including those I am forgetting on the Orthopedic floor.