A woman had a climbing accident all the doctors would have called fatal, but it wasn’t.
In 2011 what many experts considered almost a miracle happened, and it showed that the human body is much more resistant than we thought. A 28-year-old woman was climbing a vertical wall with her boyfriend. near gunnison, Colorado. They both wore all the equipment to ensure their safety and had over a decade of climbing experience. However, despite having taken all precautions and previous experience… accidents happen.
The woman was trying to secure a resting point approximately 91 meters high when the rope holding it came loose. The harness was not able to support her weight and the anchorage to the wall gave way, causing the woman to fall into the void. There were 90 meters of vertical fall to the ground, an impact against the rocks at more than 120 kilometers per hour. As a reference, a run over at more than 80 kilometers per hour is usually fatal in 90% of cases, so falling this height and against the ground… the chances of survival were non-existent.
If you ask any doctor, they would have told you it’s a deadly fall.
His partner quickly descended and notified the health teams, who The young woman was quickly airlifted to a hospital. The woman had suffered head trauma, multiple fractures to her pelvis and leg bones and she had a large number of broken ribs. Still, to the surprise of the medical personnel, she was alive. Despite having suffered brain and spinal cord damage, surgery and rehabilitation processes they worked like a charm. He managed to recover from the most serious injuries and today maintains normal brain function. Despite not being able to walk, rehabilitation has allowed him improve leg sensitivity over the years.
Those responsible for the case did not give credit, how is it possible for a human being to survive such a fall? The answer has to do with science… and luck. The human body can be extremely resilient, but as long as we protect the vital organs. The torso and head are the areas that we must protect at all costs, which is why it is recommended to use the fetal position if we have time to prepare before receiving an impact.
In the particular case of this woman, a fit of luck caused her to fall in the “perfect position”, which cost her serious injuries to her lower body, but also saved her life. Her legs and hips absorbed most of the impact, and despite having several broken ribs, her internal organs did not receive irreversible damage. If she had hit the ground in any other position, the fall would have been fatal.