The year 2015 began with a sense of renewal for me. “Renew” was the word I chose for my year from Isaiah 40:31: But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. After struggling with years of weight gain and now being 150 pounds overweight, I made the decision to undergo bariatric bypass weight loss surgery. The process entailed six months of nutrition counseling, among a myriad of tests. August 18, 2015 I underwent surgery and was recovering well with good results. I worked full time and was due back to work October 12, 2015.
I took this time of recovery to visit my daughter, Sarah and her family in Southern California, followed by a trip to Missouri to visit my six siblings and their families. All was well in the world and I certainly felt a sense of renewal of body, mind and spirit.
Benton Field, Redding, CA was the destination my pilot husband, David, and I chose to fly to the morning of Saturday, October 3, 2015. This was our first flight together in over one year due to my weight gain. We are partner owners in a four-seater Cessna 172 and we were the only two flying in the plane that day. David had to make an emergency landing on a dirt road that was cut into a steep hillside. The left wing became entangled in a barbed wire fence along the road on the upslope. This jerked the plane to the left as we were now dragging fence and skidding sideways. The landing gear broke off and now became plows in the dirt road, rapidly decelerating us to a stop.
After coming to a stop my husband turned to ask me if I was okay. To his horror, both I and the door were gone. The seat, seatbelt and harness were still there, still buckled, with only my shoes and one sock remaining on the floor of the plane. David immediately got out of the plane and started looking for me, shouting my name. When he found me, I was about 30 feet off the right wing of the plane and down a hill into a ravine. He made his way down the hill to me. I was found lying on my back, head downhill, with my head wedged under a drain pipe on top of the ground up to the bridge of my nose. Most of my clothes were tattered shreds. David could see I was breathing. He asked me if I could hear him and I nodded, “yes”. After reassuring me I would be okay, David called 911 and reported what had happened. David could hear sirens within a minute or two of his call and while he was still on the phone with a dispatcher. We were only one mile from our airport destination. When the paramedics and fire department arrived (there was no fire) they came down the hill to where we were and helped David back up the steep hillside. While they were gathering information from David for their report, the paramedics stabilized and carried me up the hill into the ambulance.
Before they drove away, the airport manager, who had arrived on scene with the rescue personnel, asked where they were taking me because he was going to transport David to where they were taking me. A paramedic pointed up to a tall hill above us where there was a big white building with a cross on it, and said, “that’s Mercy Medical Center Redding”. Coincidentally, Dignity Health, which is the parent of Mercy, is the company I have worked for the past 24 years.
X-rays and scans were taken of my entire body to review the extent of injuries. Injuries consisted of a long severe laceration from the bridge of my nose to the back of my head with a large part of my scalp on the left side peeled away from my skull forward to my left eyelid, with grass and dirt debris throughout. Brain hemorrhage was noted. All ribs except for two on the left side were fractured. One right rib was fractured. The left clavicle and left scapula were fractured. There were three broken teeth. Bruises and deep cuts and lacerations were noted all over my body. I had a punctured left lung. I was placed on a ventilator and taken to surgery to clean out and close the scalp and facial laceration. Medical personnel informed my family that only 1 in 3 people in their 40s survive these type of injuries. I was 58 years old.
I have no recall of the events transpiring on October 3, 2015 up to the first four or five days of hospitalization. That part of my story is my husband’s account of what had happened. I remember nothing of the day and he remembers everything of the day.
I was in ICU for 10 days and was hospitalized for a total of 13 days. On the day of discharge and while waiting for paperwork to be completed, David pushed me in a wheelchair and said he wanted to show me something. In the hallway at the entrance to the surgical wing is a painting titled “Chief of the Medical Staff” by Nathan Greene. David shared with me he looked on this painting every day as he walked into the hospital at 5:30 a.m. He gazed upon the painting and prayed for Jesus to keep His healing arms around me, to guide the doctors and surgeons to help heal me.
Chief of the Medical Staff painting by Nathan Greene. This painting provided hope and comfort for my family, October 3-16, 2015 at Mercy Medical Center Redding, CA.
It was determined my ejection from the airplane was caused by my seat being in the rearward position, as I was taking pictures during our flight and this allowed me a clear view without obstruction. Having the seat in this position placed the seatbelt closer to my knees and the shoulder harness was loose on me. While this may still have prevented me from flying forward, it did not stop me from being thrown laterally out of the plane. My husband did not receive any physical injuries.
When I arrived home from the hospital October 16, 2015, my husband was my caregiver. I required assistance standing, sitting, showering, dressing, undressing, and getting into and out of bed. My faith family at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Granite Bay, CA, people of faith from all over the country and world, and my local community rallied around my family and me. They showered us with prayers, cards, phone calls, emails, Facebook posts, visits, hugs, gifts, offers of meals, and support. I will never forget and will be forever grateful for their acts of kindness and generosity. I have regained strength with each new day and have relied on my faith, family and friends to see me through. I have residual back and neck pain, short term memory issues, as well as double vision which is corrected with prism prescription glasses. I am able to walk and talk and take care of my daily needs.
My oldest daughter, Sarah, and her young family had just moved to Michigan the week prior to the accident. She flew back to be with me during the critical stages. My youngest daughter, Rachel, and her young family lives locally, and she was by my side for most of my hospital stay. Both my daughters proclaimed and witnessed the power of prayer and the dramatic effect this has in your life.
On March 18, 2016 I had a mammogram and right breast ultrasound which was highly suspicious for malignancy with metastasis. Right breast and right lymph node malignancy was confirmed with biopsy done March 25, 2016. A PET scan on April 4, 2016 did not reveal metastasis to other organs. On April 18, 2016 I underwent right breast lumpectomy with lymph node dissection. I am undergoing six months chemotherapy followed by six weeks radiation treatment. Thankfully, the cancer is slow growing, non-aggressive type with good prognosis for cure. That greatly eased the sting of the initial diagnosis of breast cancer.
During the agonizing waiting time for the diagnosis, The Lord continuously gave me signs and reassurance of His love. One of these signs was in the form of a fish reflected on the side of our house. While these reflections appeared at the same time every day, I had never noticed these before. I was reassured by His still small voice, “My grace is sufficient for you” and “I am with you”.
Fish reflection on the side of our house. This reflection gave me reassurance of God’s unfailing love as I awaited upcoming mammogram and ultrasound, followed by right breast biopsy for breast cancer. Photo taken March 17, 2016.
My faith has remained strong, growing, and centered in Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord. My faith family and community have rallied around my family and me once again. My friends tell me my faith inspires them every day. I am known affectionately as “God’s Miracle”. During my hospital stay and the cancer diagnosis, I have literally been carried by the power of healing prayer and can attest to God’s abundant grace through faith. I know God has a remarkable purpose for me.
Hope Through Facing Adversity 