Life-Changing Accident: My Journey To A Deeper Faith

On June 21st, 1997, my whole world came crashing down around me.

What started out as a joy-filled family vacation at a dude ranch near Victor, Idaho quickly turned into a family tragedy.

It’s almost surreal to think about the events of that day. Sometimes it feels like a bad dream that suddenly pops into my consciousness when something triggers a memory. Other times, the horror of what happened comes back to me so vividly, that it’s like it happened yesterday.

Life-Changing Impact 

I must have asked “Why me?” hundreds of times after our family tragedy.

As horrible as this life-changing accident was though, it ended up saving my life for eternity.

My marriage grew stronger, and my faith in God grew deeper.

I also witnessed the blessing of experiencing grace first-hand . . . from God and from dear friends in our lives.

Agonizing thoughts I used to have of “Why me?” then became “Why NOT me?”

I knew I needed to write this down and share my story with the world.

God gave me this passion for writing.

I thought it was to some day “make it big” in a television career, but God had other plans.

Now I know why. 

Here is my first-hand account of the accident that changed my life.

Defining Moment

Our family accident marks the defining moment of my life.

The horrific events of June 21st, 1997 are so personal that it’s hard to think about sometimes.

Putting pen to paper has been difficult because it’s my own experience that I’m writing about.

Admittedly, I sometimes forget how life can change from one moment to the next. 

One day, I’m happy, healthy, going about my daily routine, and then all of a sudden everything can change drastically . . . even while on vacation.

Life Can Change In An Instant

We couldn’t turn down a trip to beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

My husband and I had never been there before. We couldn’t wait to see the Grand Tetons and the wildlife we’d read so much about.

Our destination?

A family dude ranch with horses, food around the campfire, cowboys – everything.

It was also my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary and we had a big family celebration planned.

All of us were fired up before the trip, ready for that fun-filled week of “roughing it” in a comfy cabin near a mountain.

We’re a musical family so a few guitars were also on our packing list.

Breathtaking Jackson Hole Scenery

 

It was absolutely breathtaking flying into Jackson Hole. The Grand Tetons were on one side of our plane and a beautiful valley teeming with wildlife was visible on the other. I kept thinking how majestic and spectacular it all was and couldn’t wait to share all of our pictures on our return trip home.

Even though it was June, it was pretty cold and ice was still on the ground.

We love to explore so we spent a lot of time driving around the charming town, taking lots of pictures, and enjoying the scenery. There were cute little shops, delicious food offerings, and friendly people all around us.

I kept thinking, “We should move here.”

Mustang Preservation Program

The ranch where we were staying had a unique mustang preservation program.  They would rescue wild horses and train some of them to become trail horses.

I was a huge horse lover as a child. The thought of riding again was very appealing.

And, how about riding a former wild mustang?

The “cool” factor was off the charts.

Trail Rides In The Mountains

The first trail ride we took was eye-opening.

It was a lot of fun, but the ground was muddy and rocky from the mountain snow runoff.

Our trail guides were great. They took it slow so none of us felt like we were falling behind.

On such unfamiliar terrain, I was grateful there wasn’t any pressure to start galloping around like Audra Barkley on The Big Valley. No way was I ready for that yet.

Dangerous Whitewater Creek

Along with all of that beautiful scenery, there was also a whitewater creek nearby that attracted kayakers.

I’d never seen whitewater raging like that in person before. You can get the idea from this picture we took below.

Unfortunately, the water level was high and treacherous. I made a mental note that the creek was something I personally wanted to stay away from.

Each New Day Is Not A Guarantee 

The next day was pretty much the same thing – a delicious ranch style breakfast followed by a long horseback ride. This time we headed up the mountain trail to the peak where we could look down upon the dude ranch below.

We stopped our horses at the top, took pictures of the beautiful flowers that were everywhere, and rested a bit before starting back down the trail.

It’s so hard to look at some of those pictures now, knowing what later happened to us. We looked so happy, but as I’ve said before, life can change in an instant.

Fateful Decision

On our last day before we were to fly back home, we had breakfast in the main hall and then the ranch staff offered us another horseback ride. I was sore and so were other family members, so we all agreed that a simple hayride might be more relaxing. I remember being glad not having to sit in a saddle that day.

Two horses were hitched up to our wagon. We all climbed aboard the little flat bed with hay on top of it with our feet dangling and our backs to each other. Two young ranch hands were up front holding the reins to guide the horses.

Here’s a picture of the wagon below – way before our ride began.

A Terrible Gut Feeling – Too Late To Stop

All aboard the wagon, we headed along the path of that rocky trail. We were all laughing and talking and having a great time.

There’s a picture of all of us on the slow-moving wagon waving back at my in-laws. I would share it, but it’s too hard to look at.

Knowing what happened later, I am forever grateful that my husband’s parents stayed behind.

After quite awhile, our wagon finally reached the end of the designated trail.

The guides steered the horses in a wide circle around a bank of trees to head back to the ranch.

That’s the moment our lives changed.

“Something” spooked the horses.

To this day, we don’t know what it was.

A bear walking nearby in the thick woods?

A snake slithering on the ground nearby?

All I know is that one moment we were on a leisurely hayride, and the next, the horses pulling the wagon started galloping alarmingly fast, probably bolting for the stable.

The knot developing in my stomach grew bigger. I had a terrible gut feeling this was all going to turn out very, very badly.

Fear turned into panic.

I looked over at my brother-in-law sitting close to me and said – “Are we in a race or something?”

I could tell by his facial expression that he also knew something was terribly wrong.

The Moment Our World Spun Out Of Control

I looked up at the two wagon drivers sitting up front and was horrified. They were no longer sitting. They were both standing up, yanking back on the reins as hard as they could, but the horses were out of control and would not stop.

One of the guys then turned around and yelled at all of us:

“WE CAN’T STOP THE HORSES.”

“YOU GOTTA JUMP OFF NOW.”

The horses were galloping out of control, either headed back to the stable, or worse, that whitewater creek.

It all seemed to happen so fast. Life became surreal, almost in slow motion. I turned around and saw some of my family members jumping off the wagon one by one, landing on the hard ground below.

I hesitated. It was all so surreal.

My amazing husband saved my life by turning around and giving me a hard enough push so that I would clear the wagon wheels when I landed.

I will never, ever, forget that he put my life first.

Bill, you are my hero.

The Aftermath Of Our Life-Changing Accident

Slowly and in shock, we all tried to get up. I looked over at my husband – his face was covered in blood. His sunglasses had cut his face when he jumped off the wagon.

Everyone was dusting off their clothes and starting to stand up, except me.

When I fell, my left knee hit the ground first, followed by my ankle which resulted in two hard breaks. My body had also flipped over uncontrollably. My right side slid along the ground to a stop, bruising my right hip.

I was badly hurt. I felt my left leg was swelling up.

One of the ranch hands ran by us saying that he was going to get help.

It was then that we realized in horror that my husband’s 9 ½ year old niece never jumped off the wagon, along with another young girl, my sister-in-law, and the other wagon driver who had stayed on the rig.

Little did we know that those panicked horses were making a beeline towards the whitewater creek.

When Will This Nightmare End?

Continuing to look back, it only took a few minutes for a van from the ranch to show up to take us back to the main cabins. I had to be lifted up into the back seat because I couldn’t walk.

We fully expected to see our two missing family members safe and sound back at the ranch when we got there. 

It was on that short drive to the ranch that we spotted my sister-in-law climbing out of that creek through the thick brush.

She was drenched and dazed, slowly walking towards our car.

She was all by herself.

Dear God.

Our niece wasn’t with her.

Frantic Search Efforts By First Responders

By the grace of God, emergency personnel started swarming the ranch quickly. The massive search party began. Local police, the National Guard, rescuers on kayaks, and plane spotters responded without even a thought for their own safety. Everyone, except me who couldn’t walk, was able to join in the search.

There wasn’t much talking going on during this search, I just heard the rescue team shouting orders back and forth.

A precious little girl was missing. Time was of the essence.

My husband, even though he was hurt and bleeding, was out searching too.

He combed the banks of that raging whitewater creek and made a grim discovery.

The wagon was broken up and submerged in the creek. As he got even closer, he saw the two horses had drowned and were still attached to the wagon in the deep water.

It makes me heart sick even to this day to think about it.

The search for our niece continued for hours. We were all in a state of disbelief.

I needed emergency surgery so someone called an ambulance for me.

My husband, his mother, and I prayed together in the hospital room before my surgery began.

The searchers were still searching.

Hours passed, and after what seemed like an eternity, the nurse finally came in and gave us devastating news.

The rescuers found our niece’s body.

She had drowned.

Tears can still fall when I think about that day.

Not all of the exact details are known.

But, in painful conversations, it seems that the panicked horses ran headlong into the rushing waters of the whitewater creek.

Everyone who was still on board fell off into that water. Our niece may have hit her head on one of the many large river rocks when the wagon tipped over.

She was carried down the rapids.

We were stunned.

The three of us cried together in that hospital room. I will never ever forget it.

The tears can still come sometimes when I think about the accident, even though this life-changing tragedy happened years ago.

This vacation was meant to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, but instead had turned into an unimaginable life-changing tragedy.

Amazing Grace

The first night in the hospital was the longest of my life. I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee and a plate and screws fixed to my ankle. I’d be wearing an uncomfortable heavy leg cast for several months. A physical therapist had to teach me to walk and climb stairs with that heavy boot on.

After checking me out of the hospital, we spent our last night in a Jackson Hole hotel room. We would take a flight home to Texas the next day.

It would take months of painful, emotional, and physical recovery for me to get the strength in my leg back.

I remember that my first experience witnessing “grace” in action was on that trip.

The physician for the U.S. Olympic Ski Team was in the emergency room that day and he performed my surgery.

I remember a local pastor from Jackson Hole heard about us and came to our hotel room to spend time with our family and pray for us.

The American Airlines flight home was also memorable.

With the heavy boot on my leg and being pushed along in a wheelchair at the airport, we arrived at our gate for the long flight home. Many fellow passengers looked our way, perhaps recognizing us from the local news story.

This next memory can bring tears of gratitude to my eyes.

The AA staff bumped my whole family (not just me in my leg cast) to First Class so that we would all be more comfortable on the long flight home.

The First Class passengers on that flight willingly gave up their seats for us.

If I hadn’t been so heavily medicated and propped up for the flight, I would have thanked every one of them for their kindness.

Back Home To Texas

When we got back home to Texas, I remember that we received a lot of supportive phone calls. Dear friends brought us several meals and prayed for us.

I couldn’t drive my own car back to work with a broken leg. A coworker of mine from the TV station in Fort Worth was sweet enough to make arrangements to drive me. I don’t think I can ever thank her enough.

My husband’s sweet cousin (who lived nearby) spent the night with me at our house for a few days so that my husband could fly back to California where our niece’s funeral was held.

I am humbled by all of these unforgettable acts of grace.

An Eternal Reunion To Look Forward To

Our family still grieves the loss of our niece, but we also rejoice that she is now in Heaven with Jesus.

My husband’s parents did not sue the ranch. In an enormous act of grace and love, they reached out to the ranch owners who were grieving our loss as well. 

Years have now passed, and my dear in-laws have since gone to be with the Lord. What a reunion we will have with them someday in Heaven!!!

Without feeling the presence of God in our lives, my family would never have gotten through all of this.

My husband and I are grateful for our lives so that we can share our life-changing accident testimony with you. 

If you’re struggling with big challenges in your own life, please don’t give up on God.

We pray that you are covered with love and support. 

An Emotional Return to Our Life Changing Accident Scene

Many years later, we returned to the scene of our tragic accident. You can read about it here: https://delight-in-god.com/my-christian-testimony/emotional-return-to-jackson-hole/

# # #

---

Thank you for visiting and reading my Christian testimony. If you feel that it may help encourage someone, please feel free to share it.

* Photo credit: Jackson Hole Daily Guide, Monday June 23, 1997.