GOOD THINGS TO SEE! remember jessica? yosemite rescue:

Garcia secured a job in housekeeping at the Wawona Hotel; after orientation Oct. 6, she went for what she thought would be a nice walk in her new surroundings. Three and a half hours in, she realized she was going in the wrong direction and decided to turn back. That’s when she slipped and fell, breaking a bone in her back and pulling ligaments in her right leg.

The following day, Garcia’s supervisor went to look for her when she failed to report for work. Searchers combed the areas they thought Garcia might be, as Garcia tried to use her arms and left leg to crawl to where someone might find her. On Oct. 9, she heard a volunteer call her name.

Jessica Garcia is pictured in January outside Yosemite Lodge. She was rescued in Yosemite National Park in 2012 after falling and being injured and lost for three days. --Joan Barnett Lee

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/news/article132537274.html#storylink=cpy[/quote]


quote from article:

"When I first got to her she was in quite a bit of pain and unable to talk to me. When we were able to medicate her and relieve the pain, she became a lot more relaxed and I was able to explain to her what was happening," Park Ranger Lisa Hendy said.

Hendy is not only a park ranger but she is also a paramedic in Yosemite. She rode with Jessica during her rescue.

"I thought she did an amazing job of taking care of herself out there and of mentally staying with us," Hendy said.

Hendy introduced Jessica to the PSAR program.

"I thought it was a fantastic idea, that they were doing that. She asked me if I would volunteer," Garcia said

"For someone whose actually experienced the suffering that goes with making a mistake and then having the toughness and strength to fight through that mistake and survive it, and then to tell people here's what you can do to avoid that, that's incredibly important," Hendy said "The testimony is way more valuable that I will say to the average visitor."

When Garcia is not doing PSAR work she is out hiking on the trails, going between 5 to 15 miles at a time. Doctors thought Garcia would take months to recover from repeat surgeries to rebuild the bones in her spine. But she was walking on her own after just a month.

"I tend to stiffen up, but usually what I do is find a flat surface, lay down and stretch out. And then I just get back up and start again," Garcia said.