<div>Hi there. Megan here.
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<div>On Saturday afternoon, August 17th, 2024 I was hiking down into a canyon known for its gorgeous waterfalls alongside my family (husband Jeremy, five-year-old son Van, four-year-old daughter Marin, brother Brent, and sister-in-law Cass) in the mountains outside Asheville, NC.
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<div>The 20-25 minute hike went great, although a bit difficult and slippery at times. The weather was beautiful and the waterfalls in the gulley were strong and lovely. It was seemingly the perfect hike, and the perfect day.
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<div>Jeremy and I were exploring the rocks above the waterfalls when I stepped in the wrong spot and slipped. There was nothing to grab to slow myself and I rapidly slid down the slick slate rocks towards the waterfall’s edge into a complete free fall. I plummeted an estimated 12-15ft, landing directly on my back on the jagged rocks and shallow pooled water. I heard my lower back and left hip crack when I landed; and I felt my bones crush beneath me. I assumed it was my spine and hips, sure I was paralyzed from the waist down.
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<div>I couldn’t move or stand. I found it hard to breathe. I thought those moments with my children and family were my very last.
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<div>Rescue teams were called (my brother had to hike 30 minutes out of the gulley to our vehicle, then drive to locate cellular service to call 911). After about 2 hours laying in the rocks in an awkward fetal position, trying not to move or seize from the pain, the first responders were able to reach me. They started an IV and gave me pain medications and fluids to keep my body from going into shock, and then a team of about 20-30 men brought me out of the canyon via gurney, ropes, and an ATV, to the waiting ambulance.
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<div>I fell at 1pm, and it took nearly 8 hours to extricate me from the canyon and get me to the hospital. I am thankful for every single person who helped that day, from the 70-year-old volunteer firefighter, Roger, who reached me first and wrapped me in a pelvic binder, to the lead EMT, Caleb, who put my hair in a bun and held my hand, lovingly calling me baby every time I screamed in pain, to the lookersby who tucked their towels under my head and squirted water into my mouth between my chattering teeth, to my husband and brother who never left my side, to my sister who held my son and daughter and repeatedly smoothed their hair, whispering in their ear that their mommy was strong and tough and would be ok.
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<div>In the hospital CT scans revealed that I had shattered my pelvis … crushed my left hip … and fractured the top of my femur. Essentially, the ball of my hip punched through the joint and shattered the surrounding bones that connect my pelvis to my femur and back around to my spine.
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<div>I had surgery on Monday, August 19th by an incredible trauma orthopedist, Dr. LeCroy, and I am now stable and beginning the long, long painful road to recovery.
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<div>I started this gofundme in the hopes of receiving support from my community of loved ones, family, and friends. My medical bills alone will annihilate all of our savings. The extensive rescue mission, ambulance, and medical transport back to Wilmington are likely not covered by insurance. We haven’t received an estimate yet but that rescue experience in the woods will likely be $20,000 on its own.
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<div>I will need to take a leave of absence from work (unpaid) as I get settled into life in a wheelchair; as well as to secure accessibility equipment so I can be home with my babies and not in a rehabilitation facility. I will need a wheelchair and a walker. a hospital bed, an accessible toilet, shower seat, and a ramp built on my exterior stairs so I can wheelchair in and out. I will be non-weight bearing for a minimum of 3 months and will not be able to drive or run errands, cook, clean, or bathe by myself. I will also require extensive follow-ups with the orthopedists, intensive Physical Therapy, and potentially more surgery down the road.
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<div>I am thankful to be alive. It’s the mantra that goes through my mind, minute to minute, second to second. Thankful doesn’t cover it. The scenario of my fall and landing could have gone a million other ways and I could be paralyzed, dead, or mentally incapacitated. But I survived. And I will need financial assistance in this journey and am greatly hoping to turn to family and friends and my incredible community to help keep my head above water.
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<div>This was an abrupt and forever altering moment in the timeline of my life. I will rise from these ashes, but it will be a terrifying and extremely painful and expensive journey.
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<div>Thank you for listening, and for loving me and our family.
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<div>With so much appreciation,
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<div>Megan
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Anonymous

Sarah Tilghman

Jennifer Tucker

Brittany Lingner

Jason Wasserman

Thomas Fleming

Linda Walpole

Stephanie Heyworth

Robert Fines

Karen Bernatavitz

Support Megan's Journey to Walk Again

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