Written by: Ryanne
It has been quite a day. I thought I'd take a minute to record the events on Saturday, February 4th. My dad has recorded events in a journal for Wesley and I will take information from there.
Dad and Wes woke up at 6:45AM so they could meet the rest of the Priests at the church by 7:30AM to go skiing at Moonlight basin. The priest quorum has made this an annual activity and is one of their favorites. They went down the road a little bit and picked up Jacoby. Wes realized he forgot his contacts so they headed back to the house to get those. They were then on their way. They had to pick up Paul on the way. Because they were running so late they called the other leader, Dave, and told him to go ahead and start on their way.
As they traveled to Moonlight Basin the listened to a recording about the life of Porter Rockwell. The boys enjoyed listening to that. The weather was awesome- a bright, cloudless, sunny day.
The boys were anxious to hit the slopes. The boys all had a good time skiing together. Wes enjoyed skiing through the trees. After skiing several runs, they decided to play at the terrain park, where there are jumps and obstacles. The boys all went off the first jump. Nothing but smiles. The next jump was bigger and Dad went down to make sure no one was in the way. They had seen someone they didn't know go over it too slow so Wes made sure he had more speed as he approached the jump.
Dad said, "I could not tell who was coming first or how fast they were going. I was concerned and my heart paused when I saw Wesley flying through the air going much too fast and at least 12 to 15 feet off the ground. The snow was very hard and packed and there was no powder or soft snow to be found under or below the jump. The speed at which Wes was going and the angle of the jump caused Wes to tilt back. He was inexperienced at taking a jump like this at such a fast speed. He hit the ice like concrete on his back and neck, taking the full impact there. His skis and poles immediately went flying. He slid 50 or 60 yards on his back and then during the slid hit a bump that rolled him to his stomach. He came to a stop face down in the snow. In just a few seconds I was very near him. His arms and legs were spread apart and face down in the snow. I was going to stop and get his skis and poles. As I stopped I notice he was not moving. I yelled to him asking if he was alright. He did not move but I heard him say no. I left his skis and poles and got to him as quickly as I could. He said ,"Dad, I can't move my arms or my legs." His face was laying fown in the snow. I took off my gloves and very tenderly dug the snow out from under his chin and face and then I put my hands under his chin and face to protect him from the snow. Because he could not feel his arms or legs I knew we were dealing with a very serious injury. We could not roll him or move him in any way. I really did not think through this process, I just knew it as a matter of fact. while my mind was racing, I was brought back to reality by Wesley, who within seconds of his crash said, "Dad, you need to give me a blessing." My mind was shocked back into reality. The here and now. I knew that was the next thing I needed to do. Some of our boys were at the top of the jump, blocking it so no one would jump off and land on us. I found out later that by the ski patrol that arrived first on the scene had been on the ski lift and had seen the accident and immediately ordered a board to be sent up. He was the first to get to us. So, a few seconds had gone by since the accident and Wes was asking for a blessing. His mind was sharper than mine. Without his reminder it would have taken me 5 or 10 minutes to come to that conclussion. He is a young man of great faith. There was no one to assist me and I did not have any oil. In my mind, I did not worry about any of this. I removed my hat, put my hand on Wesley's head and pronounced a very short but powerful inspired blessing. I am grateful that he and I were worthy and had sufficient faith to give a blessing like this. It is amazing the calming effect that this blessing had on me and Wesley. I was definitely inspired to pronounce that everything would be fine for Wes. Within 5 or 6 minutes the ski patrol that had seen the accident arrived. We waited a few minutes for the rest of the rescue team. During this time Wes was very calm and patient. When the team arrived they immediately called for an ambulance to come up from Big Sky. The first aid team was extremely careful in handling Wes and getting him on a back board. They knew they were dealing with a serious injury. I was very impressed with their skills, gentleness, and kindness. We followed them down the mountain and I was able to give Wes a kiss before they took him to the hospital. I followed about 10 minutes behind them to the Bozeman hospital."
Part 2 will come tomorrow. I will write another update post about our day today.
It has been quite a day. I thought I'd take a minute to record the events on Saturday, February 4th. My dad has recorded events in a journal for Wesley and I will take information from there.
Dad and Wes woke up at 6:45AM so they could meet the rest of the Priests at the church by 7:30AM to go skiing at Moonlight basin. The priest quorum has made this an annual activity and is one of their favorites. They went down the road a little bit and picked up Jacoby. Wes realized he forgot his contacts so they headed back to the house to get those. They were then on their way. They had to pick up Paul on the way. Because they were running so late they called the other leader, Dave, and told him to go ahead and start on their way.
As they traveled to Moonlight Basin the listened to a recording about the life of Porter Rockwell. The boys enjoyed listening to that. The weather was awesome- a bright, cloudless, sunny day.
The boys were anxious to hit the slopes. The boys all had a good time skiing together. Wes enjoyed skiing through the trees. After skiing several runs, they decided to play at the terrain park, where there are jumps and obstacles. The boys all went off the first jump. Nothing but smiles. The next jump was bigger and Dad went down to make sure no one was in the way. They had seen someone they didn't know go over it too slow so Wes made sure he had more speed as he approached the jump.
Dad said, "I could not tell who was coming first or how fast they were going. I was concerned and my heart paused when I saw Wesley flying through the air going much too fast and at least 12 to 15 feet off the ground. The snow was very hard and packed and there was no powder or soft snow to be found under or below the jump. The speed at which Wes was going and the angle of the jump caused Wes to tilt back. He was inexperienced at taking a jump like this at such a fast speed. He hit the ice like concrete on his back and neck, taking the full impact there. His skis and poles immediately went flying. He slid 50 or 60 yards on his back and then during the slid hit a bump that rolled him to his stomach. He came to a stop face down in the snow. In just a few seconds I was very near him. His arms and legs were spread apart and face down in the snow. I was going to stop and get his skis and poles. As I stopped I notice he was not moving. I yelled to him asking if he was alright. He did not move but I heard him say no. I left his skis and poles and got to him as quickly as I could. He said ,"Dad, I can't move my arms or my legs." His face was laying fown in the snow. I took off my gloves and very tenderly dug the snow out from under his chin and face and then I put my hands under his chin and face to protect him from the snow. Because he could not feel his arms or legs I knew we were dealing with a very serious injury. We could not roll him or move him in any way. I really did not think through this process, I just knew it as a matter of fact. while my mind was racing, I was brought back to reality by Wesley, who within seconds of his crash said, "Dad, you need to give me a blessing." My mind was shocked back into reality. The here and now. I knew that was the next thing I needed to do. Some of our boys were at the top of the jump, blocking it so no one would jump off and land on us. I found out later that by the ski patrol that arrived first on the scene had been on the ski lift and had seen the accident and immediately ordered a board to be sent up. He was the first to get to us. So, a few seconds had gone by since the accident and Wes was asking for a blessing. His mind was sharper than mine. Without his reminder it would have taken me 5 or 10 minutes to come to that conclussion. He is a young man of great faith. There was no one to assist me and I did not have any oil. In my mind, I did not worry about any of this. I removed my hat, put my hand on Wesley's head and pronounced a very short but powerful inspired blessing. I am grateful that he and I were worthy and had sufficient faith to give a blessing like this. It is amazing the calming effect that this blessing had on me and Wesley. I was definitely inspired to pronounce that everything would be fine for Wes. Within 5 or 6 minutes the ski patrol that had seen the accident arrived. We waited a few minutes for the rest of the rescue team. During this time Wes was very calm and patient. When the team arrived they immediately called for an ambulance to come up from Big Sky. The first aid team was extremely careful in handling Wes and getting him on a back board. They knew they were dealing with a serious injury. I was very impressed with their skills, gentleness, and kindness. We followed them down the mountain and I was able to give Wes a kiss before they took him to the hospital. I followed about 10 minutes behind them to the Bozeman hospital."
Part 2 will come tomorrow. I will write another update post about our day today.
I love the fact that you both had faith instead of complete panic. Because of who you are and how strong you are, you were able to accept the assurances that the Lord would take care of Wes.He is a great example of faith and strength to all of us.
ReplyDeleteGuthrie Family
Wesley and your family are in my prayers. Trevor and I are ski buddies - I was there when he broke his leg last year. You are incredible - hang in there. Keep the faith and conitnue turning to the Savior as you are doing. Your story is inspiring. Thank you for sharing and being such a huge example of faith and strength.
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