CHARLES HORTON

Below is the story of Charles Horton, whom many of you may remember from national news stories about him on CNN, ABC's "Good Morning America," etc., after his dramatic rescue. 

Following his "fifteen minutes of fame," though, the medical bills remained, and he is struggling to pay these bills, which total over $40,000.  We thank The "Steamboat Pilot" and "Vail Daily" newspapers for their contributions to the following:

A 55-year-old Steamboat Springs, CO, man, Charles was injured during what was supposed to be a one-day, cross-country ski trip in the Dunckley Pass area.  He wound up surviving eight nights in the wilderness by his wits alone, with the head of his tibia crushed and a spiral fracture halfway down, the head of his fibula broken, torn ligaments in his knee, and frostbite of his left foot.

For nine days, barely able to move due to his broken leg and no one aware that he was missing, Charles slept under the warm sun during the day, and stayed awake during the chilly nights.  He sucked on snow and ice for water, and amazingly, still had food left when Routt County Search and Rescue found him.

An experienced woodsman with survival skills training, Charles splinted his fractured leg using his daypack, its compression straps, and kneepads he wears while cross-country skiing.  He initially tried propelling himself along in the snow while seated on his skis, but they proved too difficult to maneuver.

Instead, he lowered himself onto his back and used his right elbow to drag himself along the snowy road.

He found a dry spot to rest and build a fire.  His lack of mobility prevented him from collecting enough wood to keep the fire stoked, and it went out about 10:00 PM that first night.  Charles says now he relished those few hours spent beside the fire.  "It gave me a sense of security and warmth."  It would be his last fire during the ordeal.

The next day, the pain from his injured leg along with the muscle spasms brought on by his sitting position began to mount.  "By the next evening, I decided I had better start moving," he said.  Charles once again flipped over onto his back and used his elbows to drag himself through the snow.

"I have walked many miles in my life, and yet when I started crawling at eight inches a move, it put those miles into perspective," he said.  He moved only two hundred yards that day.

The following days consisted of "The Marathon Crawl," and finding himself in a "surreal" state of consciousness that swung between moments of absolute peace and comfort to terrible bouts of shivering.  There were times he was scared, but he never panicked.

His outlook was grimmest the eighth night alone, cold and injured in the wilderness.  "If I see tomorrow morning's light, I'll be lucky," he remembers thinking.

He still had almonds, dried fruit, and energy bars, but the water he could consume by eating snow wasn't enough to stave off dehydration, and hypothermia was taking its toll.  His weakened muscles twitched and spasmed.  Rain and snow soaked his clothes, and his core body temperature dipped to 88 degrees.

He was alive when he opened his eyes the ninth morning of his ordeal, but rescue seemed no more probable that day than any that preceded it.  Then he heard the whistle.

He summoned his own emergency whistle to his lips and answered back.

"I pretty much knew my ordeal was over at that time," he says.

The magnitude of this experience at times still overwhelms him.  He says, "It has made me question why I am here.  What have I done since I have been on the planet?  Did I have a right to walk away from this experience alive?  Have I touched other people's lives?  Have I made a difference?"

After surgery was done on his leg (he says he has a lot of metal in there now) and he was treated for hypothermia and dehydration.  Charles was released from Yampa Valley Medical Center on May 4, 2005. 

Initially, he was very depleted from the dehydration and not eating much when injured.  Now, however, he has regained a lot of his strength after months of Cranio Sacral work, physical therapy, massage, etc., and is able to walk without even a limp!

A Cranio Sacral therapist himself (and ballroom dancer), Charles used to teach Visceral Manipulation training (the movement of organs through massage) at the Upledger Institute.  His training was not only helpful at the time of his accident, but in knowing to turn to various froms of healing during his recovery period.

He is very grateful to many people for their work and support. 

For example, experienced herbalist Mary O'Brien started applying mixtures topically as soon as possible to Charles' frostbitten foot.  The black skin eventually fell off to reveal pink skin beneath, his toenails began to grow back, etc.  However, his foot is still very numb and tingly, so the wait continues for full recovery there, but he is happy that at least it looks rather normal again.

Even with the wonderful support of his community and friends around the country who donated to this man who does not have health insurance, his medical bills are staggering. 

Although Charles pays as much as he can on these bills monthly,  he sees no way he will ever be able to pay them off while paying his other basic monthly expenses.  He thought about bankruptcy, but decided that does not fit who he is.