Lafayette Rez Hiker Sends In Her X-Rays – And Thanks For Her Rescuers

We’re getting a little jaded around here, apparently, as it takes more than a Tesla smashing through a dry cleaner to pique our interest these days.

So we were gratified to hear from one of the folks involved in another one of the many stories we offer up here on a regular basis – this one involving a stricken hiker and the small team of folks who came to her aid after a nasty fall near the Rim Trail at the Lafayette Reservoir back in March.

She wrote us openly but we’ll call her “CS” out of respect for her privacy and she was at the reservoir making her usual circuit March 29 when she slipped in muddy conditions and, well, that x-ray tells the tale.

A chopper was dialed up, this one was STARR 3 from the Sheriff’s Office, and after a bit they located CS and lowered a rescue basket but, unfortunately, she had a slight problem.

“I feel so bad that they lowered (the basket) for me and I freaked out because I am afraid of heights,” she said, and we get that as not everyone is comfortable being hoisted into the air.

At that point it became a ground rescue with members of the East Bay Regional Park District and some local firefighters slogging through heavy mud to reach CS who was, it should be understood, in considerable pain.

“The mud was so slippery it was hard for them to get to me by vehicle or foot,” she wrote. “After the fire fighters gave me pain medicine and splinted my leg we all looked up to see the guys from the helicopter had lowered down…”

CS said it hurt to be upright with her leg dangling but that the small crew tending to her were so “gracious and creative,” calling in a “tarp-like gurney they put me on and slipped and slided in the mud with me to an ATV vehicle that got me out of the woods.”

And thus began a period of hospitalization and recuperation and a little trolley CS used to maneuver while her ankle healed – a process that took some time and provided her with long moments of reflection.

“My Dad was a firefighter for Lafayette for years and even though he has passed I felt him there that day with me,” she wrote. “I’m hoping to remember the station that was there so I can visit personally thank the firemen that helped me that day. I think it was station 42 or 43…”

So, CS is back in action, which we were glad to hear. We were also able to put a “.” on that Rez Rescue Story and she’s hoping to reconnect with the air and ground crew who came galloping to the rescue that day.

If you were one of those people, perhaps you’ll check in under the comments section. CS would like to hear from you.