A family trip to a ski-resort almost ended in tragedy, after a 4-year-old girl fell off a ski lift. She was riding on the Sunnyside lift with an adult woman at the Alta Ski resort, when she somehow tumbled out of the chair and fell 30 to 40 feet to the ground below. (The woman’s relationship to the child was not known, and authorities weren’t releasing the names of either her or the child to the public.)

The incident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. on a Saturday. An alert passenger on a nearby chair noticed the girl face down in the snow and called 911 on his cell phone. When rescuers arrived, the girl was found face down, unconscious, and she
wasn’t breathing. Luckily, ski patrol was able to revive her with rescue breaths and get her breathing again. She went in and out of consciousness at least twice before being flown by helicopter to Primary Children’s Medical Center, where she was listed in
serious condition.

Doctors at the hospital checked the child for head, neck, and internal injuries. Thankfully, she had none, and this story has a wonderful ending. She was released from the hospital a couple days later with only a minor concussion as testimony to her ordeal. Officials say that the girl landed in the powder rather than a packed ski run, and that this probably helped keep her injuries to a minimum. (Though it might have been both a blessing and a
curse, because the snow also might have been what suffocated her and stopped her breathing when she lost consciousness, face down in the snow.)

This story is such a wonderful example of how little can separate life and death. A ski-patrols quick response and training in CPR, combined with the initiative of an alert citizen dialing 911, meant that a family was bringing their little girl home a few days later good as new, rather than attending her funeral. In safety situations, it is often one or two decisive actions and/or factors that mean the difference between life and death. Which is also why it’s so important for parents to train both themselves and their children in safety matters, including CPR and first aid. When an emergency arises, one thing done right rather than wrong may mean the difference between life and death.