A little boy is being lauded as a hero after he used his quick thinking to save his mother's life during a family hike. His actions allowed rescuers to find them quickly, which means that his mom was able to get help before her condition got to a point where she couldn't be saved.
The boy did what little kids do best — he screamed and yelled for help. We'd say that had to be one time his mom was actually grateful for the ability of little kids to be extremely loud. While his mom is still on a long road to recovery after sustaining multiple injuries, the family is lucky that she's alive.
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The whole thing was a freak accident.
Natalie Franks was on a hike with her husband and two young kids in Ketchum, Idaho, on July 29. She put her 5-year-old son Colton down to find a walking stick, while her husband Andy and their other son continued down a trail, Andy explained in a detailed account on a GoFundMe set up for the family.
Andy explained that while Natalie and Colton were together, "a pine tree snapped and landed on top of her, crashing her face first to the ground and coming to rest a couple feet above where she lay. She was unable to move or call for help." Colton then "began to run and scream for help." A couple hiking eventually heard Colton's screams, following him to Natalie, where they called 911.
Help got to her and was able to get her to a hospital quickly.
Andy explained that Natalie was in a place with "a well-trained Mountain Rescue Team," who responded to her quickly, and was able to stabilize her with a backboard and use an ATV to get her down the mountain where an ambulance was waiting. They rushed her to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, where doctors met her at the door.
At the hospital, doctors found Natalie had "a collapsed lung that was filling with blood," as well as a "severely dislocated left hip and knee," which they discovered was cutting off blood flow to her left leg. Doctors were able to create a new artery using veins from her right leg, which helped get blood flowing back to her left leg.
Ultimately, it was discovered that Natalie had "a badly broken scapula (left shoulder), 9 broken ribs, 3 broken vertebrae, a broken sacrum, a badly broken hip," and potential soft tissue injuries.
The tree falling without reason is 'pretty rare.'
"We’ve certainly had situations where trees have fallen on people, but usually they have been because people were cutting firewood improperly or other similar situations," Bill McLaughlin, the Ketchum Fire Chief told the Idaho Mountain Express. "Just out of the blue? This is a pretty rare event."
"Our hearts go out to the injured hiker and her family during this extremely difficult time. I also want to acknowledge and thank everyone who responded to this incident for the care and compassion they demonstrated in a very challenging situation," Pete Sonntag, general manager of the Sun Valley Resort, where Franks and her family were staying, wrote in a statement to the Express.
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The family is giving Colton lots of praise.
In one of his numerous updates, Andy gave "special" praise to Colton, "who had the gift of God in him to know to run and get help for his mommy who he loves so dearly."
On August 24, Natalie shared an update of her own, sharing that she has "no recollection" of her accident, and "limited memory" of the days immediately following the incident.
"Thank you for following along on this journey with me. Words can never describe the depth of my gratitude," she wrote. "I hope to find my new rhythms at home and, as I gain comfort and confidence, begin to start seeing you face-to-face again soon!"
Natalie is now home and recovering.
On August 31, Andy posted a final update, explaining that the family was finally all together and back home in Orange County, California. Natalie is still on the road to recovery, but now the family can at least be comfortable in their home, even if it's "an entirely different home" because of Natalie's injuries.
"We are learning to operate with a new level of grace, forgive quickly, laugh off the ridiculousness of it all, and move forward, one day at a time," he wrote.
"Our commitment to love this way, despite all the ups and downs (and there have been lots), has shaped us into the types of people who can endure the biggest freak accident imaginable," he added, "and come out the other side still ready to say yes to serve one another late into the hours of the night, through exhaustion and discomfort."
