They will be in my thoughts and prayers. What amazing dogs, too.

teresa

"We're made of star stuff."--Carl Sagan

On Oct 25, 2013, at 8:48 PM, Patti Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:

> God bless those dogs, and prayers are certainly due for the both of those 
> folks, especially Amy.
> Thanks for letting us know about this.
> Patti
> On 10/25/2013 10:09 PM, Penny Reeder wrote:
>> I'm so glad you shared this information. Poor Mark and Amy, and what
>> great dogs!  And, what a lot of courage everyone has! The need for
>> strength and resillience will doubtless be needed from now on.  I hope
>> he gets lots of donations.
>> Thanks again. You're a good friend.
>> Penny
>> 
>> On 10/25/13, Cara Quinn <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>> 
>>> I normally would never ever allow any messages here about donations. IN this
>>> case though, this situation very much warrants this.
>>> 
>>> One of our listers and a dear friend of mine, has had an extreme tragedy
>>> with a loved one and I am officially asking for donations on his behalf.
>>> 
>>> Even a single dollar will be greatly appreciated here.
>>> 
>>> Now, before anyone objects to this, there is a time and a place to allow a
>>> note like this. This is that time and place. This is simply the right thing
>>> to do, and I know that when you read the below account, you will agree with
>>> me.
>>> 
>>> If anyone takes issue with this then I urge you to write me privately and
>>> furthermore I extend my deepest apologies for wasting your time.
>>> 
>>> For those who would like to donate, there is a PayPal button on the
>>> following page.
>>> 
>>> http://www.markburninghawk.net/music.html
>>> 
>>> You may read this story at Mark's FaceBook page and I've also pasted it
>>> below.
>>> 
>>> Again for those for whom this is an issue, remember, your delete key works
>>> just fine in this instance. :) thanks for obliging me.
>>> 
>>> FaceBook link and story are below this note.
>>> 
>>> Thanks to all of you for being here and making these lists what they are.
>>> 
>>> I wish you and yours all a wonderful weekend and thank you very much for
>>> whatever donations you can share.
>>> 
>>> Take care of each other. :)
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 
>>> Cara quinn
>>> 
>>> Mark Baxter FaceBook
>>> 
>>> https://www.facebook.com/markburninghawk.baxter
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The Story
>>> 
>>> Last Saturday afternoon, taking advantage of the beautiful weather before
>>> the rainy winter arrived, Amy and I decided to go for a short hike.  We
>>> drove to the Damnation Creek trail head on HWY 101, near Klamath, CA, and
>>> intended to be back at our car within a couple of hours, as it was already
>>> late afternoon, and would get dark soon.
>>> 
>>> Ezra was guiding me as usual, and Luke was shepherding us all as usual, and
>>> we were both enjoying the rugged landscape and giant redwood trees.  Softly
>>> scented air was dappled with sun and shade as the trail first descended,
>>> then wound up to a narrow wooden bridge, at a fork with the Coastal Loop
>>> trail.
>>> 
>>> We decided to venture a ways down the Coastal Loop trail, hoping it would
>>> "loop," back to the footbridge.  No such luck.
>>> 
>>> At first, the trail, mostly composed of an old highway and well maintained,
>>> was great for hiking, so we continued.  By the time it got narrow and steep
>>> again, and Amy could see the ocean through the trees ahead, we needed to
>>> turn back; it was getting dark.
>>> 
>>> We tiredly turned and made our way back down the trail, until we were mostly
>>> back to the footbridge.  We stopped to catch our breaths and let the dogs
>>> pee, and somehow, Amy fell.  I heard her fall, cry out, then a crash, then
>>> nothing.  I called out, "AMY!  Amy, can you answer me?"  I heard nothing for
>>> a few minutes.
>>> 
>>> When I heard a sound, I didn't think it was a human making it.  It was Amy
>>> screaming.
>>> 
>>> I had to get down the cliff she had fallen over, to ascertain her condition.
>>>  I somewhat climbed, mostly fell down to where she was.  She had landed
>>> badly, on her back, on the rocks at the bottom of an old creek bed.  Luke
>>> was with her, and Ezra followed me down.
>>> 
>>> Her screams of pain were constant, long and loud.  She kept saying, "NO! NO!
>>> NO!" over and over, and told me, "I can't feel my legs!"  I sat for a while,
>>> held her hand, listened to her scream.  I knew I had to somehow get help.
>>> 
>>> I had my iPhone 5 with me, but when I checked, I had no service.  There was
>>> no way I could move Amy; she was far too badly injured to climb up the
>>> cliff.  I had to climb up the cliff, helping Ezra up with me, and find a
>>> place where I had enough cell service to call 911 and get a rescue team in
>>> to get Amy.
>>> 
>>> So, as she screamed, I tucked my maroon sweatshirt carefully under her head,
>>> and said, "Baby, I love you; I will be back with help, I have to go get
>>> help."  She just kept on screaming.
>>> 
>>> I found a chimney up the cliff, hauled Ezra up and got back to the trail,
>>> which was fortunately very well-defined.  I still had no service.
>>> 
>>> I had no choice but to walk with Ezra guiding me down the trail until I
>>> could call 911.  Fortunately, Ezra was able to follow the trail, even in the
>>> dark.  Luke also had come up with us, and stuck close to us.
>>> 
>>> We walked about a quarter mile until I got one bar of cell coverage.  With
>>> that one bar, having to call back ten or twelve times, I got 911 to contact
>>> the sheriff, who sent in the volunteer search and rescue team to find us.
>>> 
>>> There was some consternation when I told the sheriff that I couldn't give
>>> visual landmarks.  I explained that I was blind, had been hiking with my
>>> sighted girlfriend, and she had fallen.  I gave them the names of the
>>> trails, but, No, I did not think I could get back to my vehicle, and no I
>>> couldn't describe where I was.  I told them about the bridge at the trail
>>> fork.  Then my iPhone battery got dangerously low.  They had my GPS
>>> coordinates by that time, so I settled down to wait, calling out from time
>>> to time, in case they could hear me.
>>> 
>>> That didn't stop the SAR people from hitting the trail, so I was told.  I
>>> was growing cold now, shivering in just sweats and a T-shirt.  I had given
>>> Amy my sweatshirt.
>>> 
>>> I walked with Luke and Ezra back to the footbridge.  The creek under it
>>> whispered, defining the silence of the woods at night.   Luke alternately
>>> huddled against me and padded back and forth over the bridge.  Ezra sat
>>> close, being calm and patient.  I had done all I could do.
>>> 
>>> I began intermittently shouting, "HELLO!  HELLO!"  Finally, about four hours
>>> later, my voice hoarse from dehydrating, shivering from cold, I heard a very
>>> faint, "HELLO! Are you Mark!?"  Oh yes, I was Mark all right.
>>> 
>>> A few minutes later, a woman named Renelle ran up to me on the bridge,
>>> followed by her partner Mel.  Luke led them to where Amy had fallen, and
>>> they found her.  I got under a space blanket and drank water.
>>> 
>>> It wasn't over.  Amy couldn't move, and they had to get more people with a
>>> back board and stretcher to get her up the cliff, and then we all had about
>>> three miles of hiking out to do.  Luke stayed with Amy and the rest of the
>>> team, while Mel, Ezra and I started the long hike back to the highway.
>>> 
>>> As we hiked along--by now it was about three thirty in the morning, pitch
>>> dark save for Mel's flashlight--he soon discovered that Ezra and I could
>>> navigate our way ahead better than he could try and guide me.  As we walked,
>>> we talked about Ezra, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the school that trained
>>> him, about dogs in general.  Mostly he was just trying to take my mind off
>>> what had just happened.
>>> 
>>> I realized that Ezra and Luke were the real heroes of this night.  Tired and
>>> limping, Ezra nevertheless led me where I needed to go, avoiding obstacles
>>> in the dark and finding sure footing.  Luke led the rescue team to Amy, and
>>> kept me safe while I waited for them. I have not yet stop sending my
>>> gratitude to Dog for walking with me, for saving our lives.
>>> 
>>> The last 0.7 miles was all up-hill, switchbacks and rock steps.  As beat-up
>>> and tired as I was, I cannot imagine what it was like for Amy to be
>>> stretcher-borne out of there.  I saw her briefly at the ambulance; she was
>>> in shock, but she said, "Thank you, you did the best thing you could…"
>>> 
>>> I got a ride home from a park ranger.  I had Amy's car towed home.  By then
>>> it was 4:45 in the morning.  I put the dogs to bed and just sat there for
>>> the next hour giving my thanks.
>>> 
>>> Luke came home with me and is subdued, confused and sad.
>>> 
>>> Amy was taken to Sutter General Hospital in Crescent City.  There, she was
>>> determined to have a broken thoracic spine, three broken ribs and a
>>> collapsed lung.  As of now, she is either en route to or in surgery at OHS
>>> in Portland.  No one will tell me anything.
>>> 
>>> The dogs and I are still recovering. I'm sore all over, Ezra is sore and
>>> tired and Luke is being perfectly behaved for me while he waits for Amy to
>>> return.
>>> 
>>> It's far from over, but this is an update.  I am anxiously waiting for news
>>> of Amy.  I frankly have no idea what comes next.
>>> ---
>>> View my Online Portfolio at:
>>> 
>>> http://www.onemodelplace.com/CaraQuinn
>>> 
>>> Follow me on Twitter!
>>> 
>>> https://twitter.com/ModelCara
>>> 
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