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BuddhaStalin
climber
Truckee, CA
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Dec 10, 2012 - 04:11am PT
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Wendy, glad you have recovered well. I was one of your nurses in Reno. I can attest to just how lucky you are.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Dec 10, 2012 - 01:06pm PT
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Wendy,
It is amazing that you are still with us to tell your tale. Thank you for taking the time to share it. You are an inspiration, never give up your fight. Don't worry about climbing, the time will come when you're ready. You'll know. Your love for the rock and vertical plane will take over from your past expectations.
Just get out and enjoy climbing, when you're ready, or not, it's all up to you.
I have a feeling as others have said that your return here is a good sign, you are starting to think about climbing again.
I wish you Good Luck on your new path and am positive you will find your way.
Mike Cowper
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Dec 10, 2012 - 06:42pm PT
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Wow Glad your alive!!!!!!
Thank you for posting your story, we all can learn from it.
Guy Keesee
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TheLittleUnit
Trad climber
Cambridge, MA (formerly) SF Bay Area
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Dec 10, 2012 - 07:14pm PT
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Thank you so much for everyone's well-wishes. I've pretty much accepted that I have regained any function that I can hope to get back by this point. The fact that I am walking, let alone walking without the aid of a brace, surpasses some people's expectations. I've been "training" so that I now can walk around 4 miles straight, on flat ground mind you. I can't run or do anything that involves your left quad (which is a lot of things). I'd like to say that the accident gave me a whole new perspective on life, and how I don't sweat the small stuff anymore, but I'm no saint :) There are a lot of as#@&%es in wheelchairs :) I still worry about finding a partner who will accept me and my physical limitations, which makes dating very stressful!
I'm living in Cambridge, MA now (for school), but I'll be sure to take you up on your offers to belay me when/if I'm ready to return to climbing. Now that I'm in New England, the idea of ice-climbing has been planted in my head...
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 10, 2012 - 07:18pm PT
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I don't sweat the small stuff anymore, but I'm no saint :) There are a lot of as#@&%es in wheelchairs :) I still worry about finding a partner who will accept me and my physical limitations, which makes dating very stressful!
I don't think you will have any trouble finding someone to date. The way you have expressed yourself speaks volumes.
but I'll be sure to take you up on your offers to belay me when/if I'm ready to return to climbing.
I would be honored to give you a belay.
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Grampa
climber
from SoCal
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Dec 10, 2012 - 07:20pm PT
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Best wishes for a full recovery.
So many rapelling accidents this year.......
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t-bone
climber
Bishop
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Dec 10, 2012 - 07:33pm PT
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Hi Wendy,
Congrats on walking! Sounds like a major accomplishment to be proud of.
Just last week, a few of us (that were at the Gorge that day) were talking about you and wondering about your mobility. Your improvement is great news.
Don't worry, someone with your passion and determination is sure to find many adventures in life. You just have a bit more to overcome now, which will make your adventures that much more rewarding.
Good luck and thanks for the inspiration (...as I sit at my engineering job)
Tony
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Dec 10, 2012 - 08:28pm PT
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Oops. Did I say that out loud?
Yep! Cool!
Susan
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Dec 11, 2012 - 01:39am PT
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Since this has been referred to as a rappelling accident, and someone has asked for the details, "bobmarley's" (patrick)'s post on Oct 19, 2010 - 02:15pm has an accurate description:
i think that there was a communication error and she thought she was going to be lowered to the first anchor (which is actually not possible because they had a 70 and the 2 pitches combined is like 55-60m. belayer thought she was going to rap the pitches. she leans back and is off-belay and falls the entire 160' only to be caught briefly when the rope snagged at 40' (saved her life) then she fell the 40' to the ground.
I will add that she lowered her belayer from the top anchor. The expected plan (based on their previous long climb) was for him to stop at the intermediate anchor and then lower her. But while Wendy was leading he voiced his preference to be lowered to the ground instead. Unfortunately she was concentrating on the lead at the time and did not remember this by the time she reached the top. He followed and did not remind her of his new plan. He was lowered (out of sight) to the ground. There was not enough rope for him to lower her to the ground. He assumed that Wendy remembered the new plan, so she could figure this out and do a rappel instead.
The mechanics of the situation also contributed to the miscommunication. Due to the rope weight of the 200' of rope from the anchor down to her partner, when he was on the ground and she disengaged her lowering device, the rest of the rope fed by gravity down to the ground. So it appeared to Wendy that he was setting up the lower for her as she expected. And when she detached herself from the upper anchor, the rope weight lowered her slowly at first (she's light), so it appeared he was lowering her and she let go of the far side of the rope.
Another factor is that this was the first time she had climbed with this partner. It brings up the difficult issue of how well you should know someone before you trust them with your life. This accident could have happened to partners who knew each other fairly well, so I am not sure how big a factor this was.
In hindsight, the correct thing for her partner to do would have been to stay tied in to the end (or anchor it to the ground), and call out to other climbers to borrow a second rope, and tie it to their rope to do the lowering she expected. Another way the problem could have been prevented would have been to discuss the plan explicitly when he reached the anchor. He would have then found out that she didn't think she could rappel to reach the first anchor; that lowering each other to reach it might have worked (or getting a second rope). Similarly, Wendy could have prevented the accident by lowering herself until she could confirm visually that her partner was lowering her.
More details are recounted on Wendy's blog:
http://wendy-o-ng.blogspot.com/2012/12/notes-from-my-accident.html
In my earlier years of climbing, I would have read accident details like the above, and thought "Oh, I would not have done X, so this would not have happened to me." In reality, each of us and our partners make small mistakes or decisions that seem reasonable in isolation, and sometimes they add up to a big accident like this. So please be aware that we are not immune to getting hurt like this. We should still act to minimize risks, but be aware that there is a certain level of risk that will still exist.
Like other things (such as running), climbing is "a gift" that depends on a lot of abilities, and our climbing careers can be over in an instant. Or put on hold for many months or years. This can be a chance to examine our lives and adapt to our new circumstances. Having such major injuries is very rough. Finding a way to enjoy life in our given circumstances (and to improve them) is what we all try to do, with varying degrees of success.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Dec 11, 2012 - 02:08am PT
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You're awesome. It's great to see you focusing on challenging yourself and exploring what you CAN do instead of giving up and focusing on what you CAN'T do (though I'm sure there are moments).
When it's all said and done, investing in people is what it's all about and you've still got that. Investing in climbing, adventure and work is fun and exciting, but not where joy comes from.
Keep it up and and thanks for updating everyone on your story!
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jopay
climber
so.il
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Dec 11, 2012 - 07:06am PT
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Wendy something tells me there will be many chapters of success, experiences and adventure in your life ahead, and this accident will be but one of them. I came back from an accident,and I know a bit of what you have to sort through, but I did, and if you chose to climb I'm sure you will as well. I too would recommend Malcolm Daly as someone with experience in folks with challenges. I have a couple of climber friends in Boston that I'm sure would be more than willing to assist in any way should you decide to get back in the game, just e-mail me if you want their names.Best of luck Wendy.
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TheLittleUnit
Trad climber
Cambridge, MA (formerly) SF Bay Area
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Dec 11, 2012 - 08:29am PT
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Thanks Clint. I would also like to add that it would have been very difficult (if not impossible) for me to rap to the 1st set of anchors because they are very far to the side of the 2nd set of anchors. My partner and I had been following the same protocol the whole wkend and I did not think it was going to change for this climb. There were definitely things that made me apprehensive about climbing with him: his eagerness to simul-rap back down from climbs (I vehemently declined), his rush to get back to the ground etc. I should have followed my instincts and cut my losses there.
I have not spoken to my partner since that day (and he has not contacted me).
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 11, 2012 - 12:48pm PT
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I have not spoken to my partner since that day (and he has not contacted me).
IMO, very poor conduct on his part
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Bad Climber
climber
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Dec 11, 2012 - 04:59pm PT
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Wendy: You have a huge fan club here. I'm so impressed by your strength and determination. Most of us here probably wonder if we would do so well in your shoes. As an educator (community college), I encounter a lot of people, and, interestingly, I had a student who suffered a terrible attack by a crazy gang member. My student was a wonderful young man, and everyone in the class liked him, a lad in no way involved in gangs. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was shot AND stabbed. By a very slim margin, he survived but ended up in a wheel chair. I don't know if he'll ever walk again, but his spirit, like yours, would not be dimmed, and he completely changed majors and is now working towards a medical degree. I know both of you will be fine, compassionate doctors. Keep up the good fight. You will have many grand adventures!
BAd
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oldtopangalizard
Social climber
ca
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Dec 11, 2012 - 05:47pm PT
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Half the time it seems like ST is centered around shocking stories or statements, climbing related or not. Wendy and her partner from the accident not talking at all since that day may be the most shocking thing I've ever read here.
Wendy, good luck to you in every way. Reading your blog, I feel confident your life will pass through this and be fulfilling to your satisfaction. My Mom always says it best at the end of every call, 'God Bless You'.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Dec 11, 2012 - 06:22pm PT
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Warning, it is pretty raw stuff
As a regular reader of ST I'm thinking I'll be able to handle it!
Your inspiration grounded in reality is so moving. Too often we get swayed by what I call "The Sunday Night Movie" mentality that we never get to see or experience the true grit required in long term recovery. Yes, your story is inspiring, but your bluntness, strips away the veneer of "can do" and makes us ask ourselves "oh, you really think you 'can-do'?"
Thanks for being brutally honest. For me, that is your true inspiration for me!
I keep coming back to Wow. incredible story of moving from survivor to thriver....Thanks
Susan
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Dec 11, 2012 - 06:34pm PT
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Wendy - my best wishes . I wish your bad memory gone in the future.
I am not surprise that you are not talking anymore with your partner, I surprised that he never try to reach you to explain what happen. No matter what was communications between you - I would feel guilt in his place
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Dec 11, 2012 - 06:38pm PT
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Wendy and her partner from the accident not talking at all since that day may be the most shocking thing I've ever read here.
I've been here since day one and I agree 100% - what could even come close?
Wendy, you are truly amazing and inspirational beyond words.
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nah000
Mountain climber
canuckadia
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Dec 11, 2012 - 08:31pm PT
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TheLittleUnit:
i just wanted to thank you for your honesty.
i read/skimmed some of your blogs and appreciated the vulnerability you've shown both here and in your blogs.
you are inspiring and i wish you all of the best as you continue to heal on all fronts.
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