A 79-year-old grandmother found herself in a bit of a predicament after breaking her ankle while hiking. She was visiting the spot where she spread her mother's ashes. Fortunately, a US airman ended up helping her down the mountain.
Ursula Bannister was climbing on the High Rock trail at the end of August. That's when she broke and dislocated her ankle. She was in quite a bind considering the walk back down the mountain. The grandmother explains that she visits the area once a year. She brings flowers to the area to remember her mother.
However, on the way back, she ended up stepping into a hole and hurting her foot. "By the time I sat up, my foot was pointing the wrong way. I knew right away I had broken my leg," she told the Post. "I tried to get up with my hiking pole and it collapsed on me."
Grandmother Breaks Leg
Fortunately, a fellow hiker approached and called 911. Unfortunately, it would take rescue crews up to five hours to find her. That's when two other hikers showed up. One was U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Troy May. May and his buddy Layton Allen decided to "carry Bannister 1.6 miles down the steep trail."
It took about three hours to get her down. ??"I was like if I could carry her out ... it'd be a lot quicker for her and get her out of a little bit of pain," May told NBC Boston.
The grandmother described the men as "behaving like angels coming from the sky."
She said, "I was just thankful that these guys were willing to do this." The two friends tried to distract the grandmother from the pain by asking her about her life and her experiences.
"She had a bunch of cool stories," May explained. "We were trying to keep her talking to make the hike go faster ... we really had quite the team."
After reaching their car, the Airman drove the grandmother to a hospital. Doctors determined that she broke her leg in three different places. She need 10 screws in her leg.
May said, "I just happened to be at the right time to do it that day."
