Mid morning on the first day of a five-day backpacking trip near the Rawa trail in the Rawah Wilderness area within Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colorado, I had a terrible accident and suffered a fall. The rocky terrain caused a hard landing on rocks where I first fell on my back and bounced onto a small creek landing on my side. My crew rushed to my side and helped to relocate me away from the water because I was at risk of hypothermia. Because of the double impact I was experiencing excruciating pain. They quickly mobilized to get help while staying close and helping me through this ordeal. It took the first helicopter over four hours to reach a spot near our coordinates on the mountain trail. A team of rescuers were dropped off and they hiked over to my location where I remained still unable to move my body given the pain. Once the rescue team showed up they carefully assessed my injuries. They quickly worked to stabilize my spine before getting me onto a stretcher and determined that I needed to be airlifted out of the mountain via a rescue helicopter, a military unit-type that could handle the mission. Although the rescuers considered hiking me down, given my injuries that was not feasible. We waited for a military helicopter to reach us and get me to a facility where I was transferred to a medical helicopter. This final ride delivered me to the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado. The Emergency Personnel assessed the trauma and by late afternoon I had been seen by over 10 medical providers and had undergone a series of tests, including a CT Scan and X-rays. Tests revealed a broken rib on my right side and showed that I had sustained fractures on three transverse lumbar processes.
I am totally grateful for having been within access of care, despite the utterly painful 4-hour wait. Deeply grateful as well for the support of close friends who have been by my side since the fall, during the gruelling hours of helicopter rides and hospital stays, and everything that followed. As I am now facing a long recovery, the reality of medical bills is before me and I humbly and respectfully lean on my community to help me address these costs. We all have a health care story and know how devastating medical debt can be for individuals and families. As an immigrant and woman of color, I believe we heal in community and as I navigate all this, I am reminded that we do this together. We endure pain together. We heal together.
I am yearning for healing and a full recovery, a journey unburdened by the financial stress of medical debt. Thank you for considering donating to this campaign.