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GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. — As a boulder estimated at a ton in weight pinned her foot to the ground, a hiker and her party sang "Amazing Grace" and counted to "670 or something" to keep her alert.
Eventually, after nearly five hours on Oregon's Mount Hood, Emily Vansteenwyk's companions used a log and a rock to nudge the boulder off her foot.
"It pulled free, and we all screamed," said Megan Vansteenwyk, her sister. "It was the happiest moment of our lives."
Shortly afterward, a rescue team summoned by other hikers arrived to administer first aid and call for the helicopter that took the Brush Prairie, Wash., woman to a Portland hospital.
On Wednesday, Megan Vansteenwyk told The Oregonian newspaper that her 20-year-old sister had a swollen foot, and she can't feel her right toes. But, "she has no broken bones," Megan Vansteenwyk said.
While her sister was stuck, Megan said, the party tried to protect her from the sun's glare. A fellow hiker, Adrian Inzerillo, a paramedic by training, tried to keep her alert with songs and by urging her to count.
As she started showing signs of shock, her eyes rolled back and she began to lose consciousness, her companions tried to use logs. The first one, damp, snapped. But the second worked.
Although her foot appeared smashed, Megan said, Emily reassured her sister and her friends, "It's OK. It's OK. It's OK."
"She was very, very strong," her sister said.
Eventually, after nearly five hours on Oregon's Mount Hood, Emily Vansteenwyk's companions used a log and a rock to nudge the boulder off her foot.
"It pulled free, and we all screamed," said Megan Vansteenwyk, her sister. "It was the happiest moment of our lives."
Shortly afterward, a rescue team summoned by other hikers arrived to administer first aid and call for the helicopter that took the Brush Prairie, Wash., woman to a Portland hospital.
On Wednesday, Megan Vansteenwyk told The Oregonian newspaper that her 20-year-old sister had a swollen foot, and she can't feel her right toes. But, "she has no broken bones," Megan Vansteenwyk said.
While her sister was stuck, Megan said, the party tried to protect her from the sun's glare. A fellow hiker, Adrian Inzerillo, a paramedic by training, tried to keep her alert with songs and by urging her to count.
As she started showing signs of shock, her eyes rolled back and she began to lose consciousness, her companions tried to use logs. The first one, damp, snapped. But the second worked.
Although her foot appeared smashed, Megan said, Emily reassured her sister and her friends, "It's OK. It's OK. It's OK."
"She was very, very strong," her sister said.
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