1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,680 My face was full of blood. My body was physically in so 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,320 much pain. It was completely dark. 3 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,760 But I couldn't do anything. I felt completely helpless. 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:17,800 If I wanted to survive this, I needed to pull myself out from 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,360 HV Studio. This is unnerved. 6 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,640 Welcome back to the Unnerved podcast. 7 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:47,040 It's where normal people share their abnormal stories, and if 8 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:51,240 you enjoy true stories of the strange and terrifying, then 9 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,000 you're in the right place. I'm your host, Chris Fricke. 10 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:07,640 If you're like me, sometimes I need a reset, something to help 11 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:12,200 decompress from stress and all the noise that life brings. 12 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:19,120 For me, escaping into nature is the perfect place to decompress 13 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,560 and evaluate life. The fresh air and beautiful 14 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:30,720 scenery helps relax the mind and bring clarity, but at times we 15 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,800 might find ourselves doing this completely alone. 16 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,760 But being alone in unfamiliar territory is when we're most 17 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:50,160 susceptible to danger. In today's story, Amber shares 18 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,320 an experience where she found herself alone on a hike in 19 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,960 Arizona. What started as an enjoyable 20 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,880 adventure and a new place quickly became a battle to 21 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,880 survive. Amber would endure the worst 22 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,600 physical and mental challenge of her life. 23 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:19,760 This is her story. Well the date was May 20th, 2016 24 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,880 and I had just completed my first year out of college and I 25 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,280 was a nurse, so 312 hour shifts is all. 26 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,520 I worked a week. I was going around a lot with my 27 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,120 free time and I made a goal for myself to hit all 50 states in 28 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,360 my 20s. On this particular trip I had 29 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,600 two weeks vacation and the first week I was at a nursing 30 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,720 conference in New Orleans. I flew out West and my second 31 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,360 week was going to be exploring Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. 32 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:58,160 I flew out West and headed towards this beautiful ranch 33 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:01,360 that I found on Airbnb and that's where I was going to 34 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,840 spend my first night. This next morning I planned to 35 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,840 drive 45 minutes N to Kanab, UT to volunteer at Best Friends 36 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,240 Animal Society. My mom knew, and when I arrived 37 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,120 at this ranch in Arizona, I told the owners, so at this point 38 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,440 they also knew. So when I arrived at this 39 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,840 Airbnb, I had spoken with the owners for about 45 minutes. 40 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:31,480 It was almost sunset on a Friday night. 41 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:35,200 So I asked them if they could give me a nearby recommendation 42 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,440 and they said, you know, you can hike up the backyard. 43 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,760 There's some beautiful petroglyphs at the top, he said 44 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,480 About half of our visitors can find them. 45 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,520 I'm a really competitive person, so I wanted to be in the half 46 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,760 that found them. So I started my hike up. 47 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,720 I am by no means an expert hiker, but I've spent my whole 48 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,760 life outdoors. I have horses. 49 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,960 We do a lot of hiking, camping, everything in Wisconsin and 50 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:09,960 Minnesota where I've lived previously. 51 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,520 But you know, it's a different type of terrain. 52 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,120 There was a tree with a little circle around it and from that 53 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:23,200 point on I couldn't see a trail, so I sort of created my own from 54 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,320 what looked like it would be where the trail follows. 55 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,000 Instead of looking under the boulders at the top, I climbed 56 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,560 over them and I should have looked underneath them for the 57 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,160 petroglyphs. So I was about an hour into this 58 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:40,960 hike. I had reached the top and I was 59 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,680 amazed. It was a beautiful spot, but I 60 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,080 quickly realized I'm not going to find these petroglyphs and 61 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,760 the sun is setting. So I started to backtrack my 62 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,880 steps and it didn't take long before I realized I have no idea 63 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:00,960 how I got up here. Like everything, looking down 64 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,120 looked a lot different than coming up. 65 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,480 The markers that I thought I had tracked disappeared. 66 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,040 Of course I was embarrassed to call 911 for help. 67 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,400 I just got upset with myself and so I was like, I need to find my 68 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,680 way down. I'm not calling anybody. 69 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,120 This is embarrassing. I have a commitment. 70 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,200 In the morning I was upset more than scared. 71 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:32,680 I probably spent 1520 minutes trying to find a way down and 72 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,120 every way I started I just struggled and I reached a Cliff 73 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:40,880 edge where I couldn't get any further down. 74 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:43,480 I felt defeated, but I thought, you know what? 75 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,720 I'm just going to call 911. And that's when I realized I had 76 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,760 absolutely no service. I couldn't see anybody, even on 77 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,080 the ground for miles around me. And so that's when panic really 78 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,120 set in. I had, I think it was probably 79 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,480 about 10 feet. I had this boulder that I needed 80 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,200 to literally climb down. I didn't have a harness, you 81 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:11,360 know, no way to protect myself. But I had to climb down this. 82 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,040 And if I would have fallen, there wasn't really an edge to 83 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,160 catch me. But at this point, I didn't 84 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,880 really feel like I had way up. So I just remembered checking my 85 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:26,480 phone, and it was 745. And I climbed down this folder, 86 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,040 you know, bracing myself. Thank God I had the arm strength 87 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,160 for it. And I reached the bottom. 88 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,640 I felt really relieved. Thank God I'm going to get 89 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,560 myself out of here. I was determined. 90 00:06:39,000 --> 00:07:13,200 And that's my last memory. I woke up at about 9:15 PM. 91 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:20,400 It was completely dark. My face was full of blood. 92 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,960 My body was physically in so much pain. 93 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,240 I had no idea what happened. I just remember grabbing my 94 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,160 phone out of my bag and seeing an hour and a half later 95 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,680 something happened. You know, I I hurt myself and I 96 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:43,160 ended up actually being over a mile away from where I'd last 97 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,720 checked my phone and 100 feet straight down in a slot cannon. 98 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:01,840 So of course I didn't plan to go that direction, but I just must 99 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:05,560 not have been able to go down. And what I later learned on 100 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,720 based on my injuries, I broke my nose, so I must have hit my face 101 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:16,240 first, knocking me unconscious. And I landed on my feet based on 102 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,520 my injuries. I had spinal pelvic 103 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,800 disassociation, which means I literally broke my sacrum 104 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:26,400 completely in half. It's also called the suicide 105 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,640 drumper fracture. So my body was basically split 106 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:35,480 in two pieces, so I couldn't stand up, I couldn't walk, I 107 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:37,880 couldn't really feel much from my waist down. 108 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:42,039 And I think the reason I survived is because I must have 109 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,400 hit my face first and just fall in like like a wet noodle. 110 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,320 You know, I never tried to stop myself. 111 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,920 I didn't break any parts of my arms, my legs. 112 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:57,840 It all was my pelvis. It was dark, it was cold. 113 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:03,120 It dropped from the 70s to I believe the 50s that night. 114 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,040 It was one of the most record high windy nights. 115 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,040 Physically, I was in so much pain. 116 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,840 So I was in a space about 10 by 10 feet, probably completely 117 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,640 enclosed. Nothing probably could have 118 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,160 reached me, but I didn't know that I was worried about animals 119 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,320 or rattlesnakes or, you know, bears. 120 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,880 Something sniffing me out and attacking me. 121 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:31,080 But I couldn't do anything. I felt completely helpless. 122 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,480 That night. I just kind of went in and out 123 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:38,320 of consciousness. I was awake a lot, but I also I 124 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,240 don't remember a lot of it. I just laid there. 125 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,760 I just kind of accepted this. This might be my fate. 126 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,480 I don't know. I don't know what's going to 127 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,920 happen next. As the sun rose the next 128 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:54,080 morning, I realized that if I wanted to survive this, I needed 129 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,360 to pull myself out. I needed to figure it out 130 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:01,280 because my mom knew where I was. The owners knew where I was, you 131 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,080 know, roughly. But I didn't know if anybody 132 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:07,480 would really look for me. I didn't even know my exact 133 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:12,040 location. I ended up climbing out of this 134 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:17,000 little cave that I was stuck in. There was a small opening and I 135 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:21,840 got myself to the edge of the slot cannon and I looked down 136 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,360 and I was still a couple 100 feet above ground and there was 137 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:29,320 nowhere for me to go. Especially because at this point 138 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,520 I was crawling. I couldn't, you know, I was 139 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,880 pretty helpless. So I sat at that edge for a 140 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,440 while. It was probably over an hour and 141 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,720 I just looked down. I waited to see if I saw any 142 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:44,560 life, any sort of movement. There was nothing. 143 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,880 I thought about just dropping my body off the edge. 144 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,920 I thought, I'm either going to die and get it over with and put 145 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,920 myself out of my misery because I was physically in so much 146 00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,720 pain, or I thought, maybe I'll survive. 147 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:03,160 I can roll, you know, roll myself down. 148 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,920 Maybe I'll survive and then somebody will at least find me. 149 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,200 Or I can crawl somewhere, you know? 150 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,320 I was looking for really any of the little strain of hope 151 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:14,280 because I was really, really desperate. 152 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:23,720 Thankfully, I reasoned with myself not to do that because 153 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,920 for sure I would have died. So I crawled my way back in. 154 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:32,680 But going back in now, the size of the hole I had crawled out 155 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,520 hadn't changed, but I don't know if it was the way I was pulling 156 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,920 myself or what. But getting back into that small 157 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:43,000 space I could barely fit and I kind of had to squeeze my pelvis 158 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,480 to fit through again, screaming through the pain, I was pretty 159 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,560 helpless. I still wanted to survive, but I 160 00:11:51,560 --> 00:12:03,160 just. I just didn't know what to do at 161 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,640 this point. I didn't have any water left. 162 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,400 I finished it when I was like before my fall at the top. 163 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,160 The few things I had in my backpack at that point really 164 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:14,920 weren't helpful. I had some wipes, some 165 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,120 carabiners, a small pack of nuts, which I didn't. 166 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:23,320 I had no desire to eat anything. I heavily relied on my phone. 167 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:28,520 I was sending out messages to the owners of this Airbnb, to my 168 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:33,320 parents, to some of my friends. Of course, nobody received any 169 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,680 of the messages because I didn't have service. 170 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,200 They did later, which was really traumatic for my parents. 171 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:46,720 But yeah, at this time I really utilized my phone and relied on 172 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:51,040 it to keep me positive. So I looked through all the 173 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:55,040 pictures on my phone and like I said, I just finished my first 174 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:58,760 year as a adult, you could say out of school. 175 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,600 I had been traveling a lot. I think this was the 13th state 176 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:07,000 I had been through this year and I had just a few months earlier 177 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:12,480 flown around the world from my home in Minnesota to London down 178 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:15,960 to Southeast Asia to a few countries there through Tokyo 179 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:18,760 and back to Minnesota. So literally I flew around the 180 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:23,040 world and I was just on such a hype at that point in my life. 181 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,080 I loved it. I was so happy and looking 182 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,840 through all these pictures on my phone, it just, it made me feel 183 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:34,000 really, really good and so grateful for my opportunities. 184 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,200 I kind of came to the conclusion like, OK, I don't want to die, 185 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,080 but if I do, thank God. Like I lived my life the way I 186 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:43,680 wanted. Like I wasn't afraid. 187 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:46,880 I I did a lot, so I was really proud of myself. 188 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:51,360 So I got to that step where it just was kind of accepting what 189 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,160 happened. But again, I still didn't want 190 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,440 to give up, you know, I wanted to get out of there. 191 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,480 Eventually that afternoon, I had this vision. 192 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:08,280 I had this man's voice start speaking to me, and I couldn't 193 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,960 see anyone I just saw. It was just bright. 194 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:16,680 This voice told me you need to start climbing up. 195 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,480 You will survive. Somebody is coming to get you, 196 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:22,960 but you need to climb. You need to climb. 197 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,960 I don't know what what caused it, you know, I do believe in 198 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,880 God, so I don't know if it was my beliefs or what. 199 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:36,960 So I started trying to climb up and because I was in a slot 200 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,960 cannon, it was almost like a natural rock staircase where I 201 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,800 could climb up part of the way. But the first boulder was a 202 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,520 large one. I pulled myself up to my feet 203 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,440 and then I tried to jump to get up on top of it and I just fell, 204 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,800 fell back down and pulled. And again my pelvis was broken. 205 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,680 So probably doing myself a lot of damage. 206 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,600 I can't do this. And I screamed and cried. 207 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:06,800 It hurts so bad. And then I laid there for a 208 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:10,360 while. I had to do it. 209 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,800 I didn't have any other choice. I need to do it again. 210 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:14,960 I need to try it. I need to build up the momentum. 211 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,920 So that's what I did. I jumped again. 212 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,160 I made it. I just lay there and smiled and 213 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,680 cried. And I was so proud of myself for 214 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:28,960 getting over this first boulder. And then eventually I got back 215 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,760 up and I I kept climbing little by little. 216 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,720 I climbed as far as I could. And yeah, at the time when I 217 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:39,760 climbed up and I got to this little ledge, it was very maybe 218 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:41,760 3 feet wide. It wasn't very wide. 219 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,000 I was stuck from here. It was just straight up. 220 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,520 There was nowhere I could go physically. 221 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:53,720 I couldn't crawl back down. I was also afraid if I slept on 222 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,480 this ledge that I would eventually just fall again, 223 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,920 because I really didn't have a lot of space UPS, downs up, 224 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:02,800 downs. I was on a roller coaster of 225 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,640 emotions. I just hit rock bottom. 226 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:11,120 Mentally I thought I'm not getting out, I'm stuck. 227 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,160 I'm in a worse place than I was before and at this point also I 228 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,720 was by the opening of the cannon so the wind was hitting me. 229 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,920 I was shivering. It sucked. 230 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:30,340 It was not it was not good. I laid on this edge for about 3 231 00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:35,620 hours and during this time I took pictures of my face, which 232 00:16:36,060 --> 00:16:40,360 this was the first time that I I really thought I was going to 233 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:48,080 die, where I really, really lost all hope. 234 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:53,800 I took pictures of myself and I wrote goodbye messages to my 235 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,800 family and this was kind of like me closing the chapter and 236 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,880 accepting that I'm not going to get out of here. 237 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,160 I don't think I'm going to survive another night. 238 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,160 I kind of accepted it for myself that like, I was happy with the 239 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,400 way I lived my life. I had a great life, You know, I 240 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:17,359 have a great life. But if this is the end, it's the 241 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,280 end. I kind of accepted that for me. 242 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:24,040 But I just couldn't get the idea of my family out of my head. 243 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,119 You know what they're going to hear? 244 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:27,680 They're never going to find my body. 245 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,960 They're never going to know. So that was the part that I 246 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,600 really, really struggled with. I just felt like I really let 247 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:42,720 them down because family family's number one, I was 248 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,880 laying on this edge. I was on it for about 3 hours 249 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,280 and sunset. I started hearing noises. 250 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,480 I blew my whistle and it was very faint, but I started 251 00:17:54,480 --> 00:18:03,280 blowing my whistle like crazy. They thought it was a bird, you 252 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,360 know, they got suspicious. They're like that can't be a 253 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:06,960 bird. That's that's got to be a call 254 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:14,160 for help. They heard the whistle. 255 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:15,800 They brought the search and rescue crew. 256 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:19,880 There was about 100 people looking Kingman AZ helicopter 257 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,480 came in. So all the local search and 258 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,560 rescue plus them. So they brought the helicopter 259 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,560 over to that area and they were flying and flying and you know, 260 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,640 looking. It was a just vast area 261 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,200 everywhere. And I was just so desperate, 262 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,800 waiting for them to look in my cannon and find me. 263 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:48,240 At this point I was on my knees. I had my left arm pushing up, my 264 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,200 body, supporting myself. My whistle was still in my 265 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,880 mouth, which, you know, you can't hear it with a helicopter. 266 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,280 I just think that because I was just on survival mode, but if 267 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:00,280 you logically think through, you're never going to hear a 268 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,280 whistle. But it actually worked out well 269 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,600 because when they heard my whistle, they knew the 270 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:06,360 helicopter was in the wrong direction. 271 00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:09,360 And when they couldn't hear my whistle, then they were, you 272 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:14,440 know, getting closer. I had my right arm just waving 273 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,280 over my body with my phone and my light in my hand, just trying 274 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,440 to make myself as visible as I could. 275 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,600 The weird thing about earlier, having that like vision, that 276 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,960 inspiration to climb up, I actually got to an area where I 277 00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:32,000 was visible from the helicopter where I was lying. 278 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,840 Previously, they would have never seen me, but I was on this 279 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:40,240 ledge waving my arm and all of a sudden, you know, finally that 280 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,000 helicopter, they shined right in my cannon. 281 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:49,080 You know that moment I'll never forget, where I saw a man in the 282 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,560 helicopter point right at me and my heart just sunk. 283 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,080 They found me. They saw me and I'm going to 284 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,080 live, you know, I'm, I'm going to survive. 285 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:08,750 It was powerful, but because of the location of where I was at, 286 00:20:08,750 --> 00:20:13,070 it then took another six hours to actually Get Me Out of the 287 00:20:13,070 --> 00:20:21,950 cannons. It was around a little after 288 00:20:21,950 --> 00:20:25,230 midnight when they had reached me in the cannon and. 289 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:31,160 They flew a few first responders on top of the slot cannons, but 290 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,000 at this point, remember, it was completely dark. 291 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,200 Again, there's no light pollution out here, so it's dark 292 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:41,360 and it's dangerous for everyone. So they set up a camp on top of 293 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,520 the cannons, and then they brought one guy down in a 294 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,000 harness. He was the first person I had 295 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,920 contact with and because of the nature of where I was stuck, 296 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,760 they couldn't use the basket, which they typically would use 297 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,760 for people. It was a really narrow area, so 298 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,840 they actually had to put me in a climbing harness and that's how 299 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,560 they pulled me out. So remember, my pelvis is 300 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:08,280 already broken. They put me in a rock climbing 301 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:11,480 harness and the two of us went up together. 302 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,400 So again, it was really painful, but at this point, you know, I 303 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,400 wasn't alone anymore and I was doing whatever it took to get 304 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:23,480 myself out of there. So I got out around 1:00 in the 305 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,440 morning and I was up on top of the cliffs with them. 306 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,560 At this point I was just so relieved, but I was still 307 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,840 physically in a lot of pain. They assessed me as a level 2 308 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,000 trauma. I needed serious help. 309 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:42,280 My nerves were pinching. I had fractures from T11 through 310 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,720 L1, my thoracic in my lumbar spine, compression fractures, 311 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:50,040 and then where my sacrum was. Those nerves were some were 312 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,200 severed, some were torn. Another part of this is I tore 313 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,720 all of the nerves in my pelvis so I couldn't go to the 314 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,960 bathroom. My bladder was another thing. 315 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,800 I had no way, you know, to do that. 316 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,560 So my bladder was like, I think they assessed it was between 317 00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,840 like 2 and 3 liters full at this point, and we didn't realize 318 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,480 that at first. But like, my bladder was so 319 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,520 full. It was pushing on everything. 320 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,760 I had no urge to go because I couldn't feel anything. 321 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,360 I had so much pressure from that. 322 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,120 I was still screaming and excruciating pain. 323 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:28,600 They had given me pain meds, but I needed to get to the hospital, 324 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,640 so their plan was to camp out with me until sunlight, when it 325 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,080 was safer to remove me. Thank God. 326 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,400 Another miraculous thing that happened for me. 327 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:42,800 The wind again. It was a really, really windy 328 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,840 day, extreme even for that time. The wind completely stopped. 329 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:54,360 There was nothing. They just decided in that moment 330 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,680 we need to bring the helicopter and we need to get her off and 331 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,720 get her to the hospital. They put me on the edge of the 332 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,560 rock, you know, down in fetal position and with my head down, 333 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:10,200 my hands covering my head. And they said do not move until 334 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,400 somebody comes to get you. You need to stay in this 335 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:14,840 position. And what they did actually was 336 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:18,040 they couldn't land the helicopter, so they brought it 337 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:22,480 to the edge of the spot cannon. They put one of the skis down on 338 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,840 the rock and then opened the door. 339 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,080 And when they were ready, they pulled me, grabbed me in and 340 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,880 away I went. The wind literally stopped for 341 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:33,520 15 minutes. That's it. 342 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:36,320 As soon as I hit the ground because I took an ambulance then 343 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,520 to the hospital, they just flew me from the top a couple 100 344 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,920 feet down to the ground. It was about a 15 minute time 345 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:46,280 frame. One of my first responders she 346 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,800 the EMT. She was like Amber. 347 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:53,000 I swear 15 minutes that when picked right back off it was a 348 00:23:53,000 --> 00:24:04,160 miracle that it stopped. I had emergency surgery in the 349 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,720 ER. I made contact with my parents, 350 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:12,400 so I had 6 pins placed and my mom flew out the next day. 351 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,440 I immediately had so much support, so many people helping 352 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:20,320 me, taking care of me, sending letters, sending mail. 353 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,480 I had a lot of support from Mayo Clinic, a lot of support from 354 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,120 Best Friends Animal Society. My recovery was amazing. 355 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:31,480 After 10 days at Dixie Regional Medical Center, I was at Mayo 356 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,840 Clinic another seven days, had surgery on my broken nose there, 357 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,920 and then I went home. I was on bed rest. 358 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:41,280 You know I'm a nurse so when they told me rehab, I said no 359 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,560 way I'm going home. I'm recovering at my parents 360 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,200 house so my mom became my caregiver and we had a few other 361 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:49,120 friends help us out, which was phenomenal. 362 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:52,960 My dog never left my side. I was on bed rest for three 363 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:55,920 months and then I started physiotherapy. 364 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,320 Seven months off of work and a year later I had surgery again. 365 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,320 The fracture lines were still there but it was stable enough. 366 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,000 I had all the pins removed and a year and a half later I went 367 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,080 back to work full time and here I am today. 368 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:15,120 Amber Conehorst has a love for travel and for animals. 369 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:18,840 That's what took her to Utah on a trip to volunteer at an animal 370 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,800 sanctuary. It's a trip that didn't go as 371 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,040 planned. While hiking in Cane Beds, AZ on 372 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,320 Friday, Amber got lost and worried, she says. 373 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,160 That's the last thing she remembers. 374 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,440 Amber had fallen, tumbling 100 feet down the side of a 375 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,080 rockledge. I literally just went from one 376 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,880 side to the other and I screamed every time I moved because I 377 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,160 thought I was going to die. A broken nose and pelvis, 378 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,600 fractured vertebrae, a spinal injury and much more. 379 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,840 Broken physically and emotionally, Amber used her cell 380 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,440 phone, which didn't have service, to take photos, to send 381 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,840 to loved ones. I basically, at that point I 382 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,760 wrote my parents, no, just because I thought I was, you 383 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:02,600 know, I didn't know if I'd see him again and I wanted to give 384 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:04,920 them goodbyes. But what Amber didn't know was a 385 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,160 search crew of about 100 had formed. 386 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:10,840 The owners of the Airbnb where she was staying noticed she 387 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,320 hadn't come back and called authorities. 388 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:18,640 About 28 hours after her fall, she was spotted by a helicopter. 389 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,960 Rescue crew. Physically, I I've struggled a 390 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,560 lot. And mentally, especially right 391 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:31,520 after my accident that the first two years I had a lot of PTSD 392 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,280 and traumatic nightmares. You know, I would, I would just 393 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,400 wake up in a panic. I couldn't sleep in the dark for 394 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,000 a while. And so there were a lot of 395 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,000 things that I did struggle with and I think it's important for 396 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,360 people to know that because we all, when we go through events, 397 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:52,080 we process it our own way in and it's normal to struggle. 398 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:56,840 But I knew I had a choice and I couldn't let myself down. 399 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:00,600 And I think that's the biggest message that I try to send to 400 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,920 people today is follow your heart. 401 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,240 Like, take your brain with you, be smart about it, but like, 402 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,240 follow your heart, Do what makes you happy and get out of your 403 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,680 comfort zone. You know, we we only have one 404 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,160 life. We got to live it the best way 405 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,280 we can. And that's what I still try to 406 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:17,360 do. And to be honest, my accident 407 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,080 really taught me a good lesson on how to live my best life. 408 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,800 So I feel like I'm a much better person. 409 00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:28,880 I try not to focus on what some people would call failures. 410 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:32,000 I guess my goal was to get to all 50 states. 411 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,280 In my 20s, I had my accident and then COVID hit. 412 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,200 So I've hit forty of those 50 states. 413 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,040 I didn't complete my goal, but you know what? 414 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:45,760 At some point in my life, I'm going to get it done and I'm 415 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,880 going to enjoy it. So what advice would you give to 416 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:52,600 other hikers? There's so many hikers that go 417 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,680 missing or people that have fallen. 418 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:57,600 I always, always, always have a whistle on me. 419 00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:59,200 You know, it's a dollar investment. 420 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,040 And that's something I've told people over and over again. 421 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:04,240 I don't care if you're in the streets or if you're in the 422 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,000 country, buy a whistle, Keep it on you. 423 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,680 You never really know what it can save you. 424 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,080 I get stories sent to me all the time. 425 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:18,280 Some survive and some don't. And it goes to show how common 426 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,720 it is. And I just know I'm one of the 427 00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,920 lucky ones. Thank God my life did work out 428 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:31,040 the way it did. Over 1000 people on average, go 429 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,000 missing from national parks and public lands every year. 430 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:41,480 Amber was one of the lucky ones. Her traumatic experience is a 431 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,800 miraculous story of survival that most of us can't even 432 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,600 imagine. I'm not trying to scare anyone 433 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,760 away from hiking alone, but if you do, always tell someone 434 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:59,200 exactly where you're going and when you're going to return. 435 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:05,280 This small step could make the difference between life and 436 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:14,940 death. Thanks again for listening to 437 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:17,940 Unnerved. If you enjoyed this episode, 438 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:21,140 please share it with your friends and leave a review 439 00:29:21,460 --> 00:29:25,120 wherever you get your podcast. And if you guys want to see 440 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:29,480 photos related to each episode, be sure to follow us on 441 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:35,080 Instagram at Unnerved Podcast. There you'll be able to see the 442 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:40,400 goodbye Selfie photos that Amber took of herself, as well as the 443 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:42,480 100 foot drop that she fell from. 444 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:46,040 Until next time, take care.