Letters of thanks by woman rescued from top of Mt. Waterman.

Hello, I want to thank all of those incredible caring, capable, and selfless souls that aided in my dramatic rescue from the top of Mt. Waterman last Saturday June 30th, 2007 from the literal top of Mt. Waterman at about 8:00pm- 11:00pm.  I had slipped departing the mountain on the main trail approx. 6:00pm, on some scree, pine needles and loose rocks with my right foot sliding into a half-bubmerged boulder, which forced a quick dislocation of my right foot, resulting in a sudden triple fracture of "ALL" of my primary bones of the ankle.  My fabulous boyfriend, Bob Thorn dashed down the trail to get help, and I had to hunker down to await rescue.  It is astounding that you all responded so suddenly preventing me from further trauma to my body and spirit!  It was truly frightening, as we had passed bear scat along the trail, and there had been quite a few sightings of mtn. lions, bears, and the like coming closer to people in search of food and water.  You people are true angels and responsible for saving people's lives because of the astounding speed in which you respond to a call. We all know that every second counts in alleviating more serious injuries.  I wish you could list for me the rescue team on duty that evening who directly aided in my quick retrieval from Mt. Waterman, so I can forever hold your names in my memory, heart, and prayers, and be able to send something to you to thank you for your kindnesses, and brilliant recovery effort.  Do you have an office, meeting room, or facility that you all use as a home base from which to train or convene your operations???  Please let me know.  My boyfriend, Bob said that there were approx. 16 rescue team members directly trying to locate me that night , but that there was numerous others involved with the helicopter, paramedic vans, and other forest workers, possibly 26 in all. Please send/e-mail me those wonderful folks involved, so I may know who they are, and how many were involved.
Now about me..... I am Bridget Duffy, age 54, mother of 2 sons, 3 grandsons, and a Sierra Club member who should have worn her boots that day!!!!  Professionally I am a fine artist, (oil painter with two galleries), and I am in Local 800: Art Director's Guild, Scenic, Graphic, and Title Artists, the professional entertainment artists union for Hollywood.  I paint backdrops, scenery, paintings for such shows as"Heroes", the"Unit", "Survivor", "American Idol",L.A. Opera, Magic Mtn. etc....and have been  working for over 30 yrs....so...now I am on a "forced" hiatus/vacation for the next 8 weeks.  I am getting really good at scrabble, cards, and board games. I am scheduled to have surgery this Wednesday at Kaiser W.L.A. to srenghten the ankle bones with a metal plate and 6 or more screws!!! Now I'll really set off the airport security machines!  It is a small price to pay for the gift of my life to be able to enjoy my family and my profession for hoefully a few more decades.  I PROMISE to always wear my boots when hiking, and my next holiday gift from family will be those lovely adjustable "hiking sticks" to aid in descending difficult terrain. What do you guys suggest to combat a hungry mtn. lion that approaches an injured hiker??? I know about bear pepper spray...but is it also for the cats???? I deeply am grateful to ALL of you fabulous folks and am indebted to you forever!!!!! With warmest regards, heartfelt appreciation, and gratitude....I am Bridget Duffy

From Saturday, August 11th

Hello Invaluable Team,  It is now 6 weeks since I took that nasty slide on the trail at Mt. Waterman last early evening of Saturday, June 30th this summer of 07'and was found by your wonderful team. I incurred a triple fracture of my rt. ankle, and the dislocation of the same foot, and was supposed to
have surgery(cancelled 3 times because infection would be fatal if introduced internally) to help
bolster the bones with screws and plates, yet a tenacious infection occured from the dislocation, and took too long to heal, so the Kaiser W.L.A. docs decided to do a bone reduction where they jam all of your bones together manually to reduce the space between the breaks .........WITHOUT pain killer!  It was horrifying, yet not anywhere near as painful as the initial dislocation on the mountain,  So then I got my monstrous full length cast, and I've got 10 more days to go before my next check-up and hopefully, I'll graduate to a half cast if the healing is good.  I really want to come to your meeting to thank all of you for your life-saving angelic work!!!! But I must wait till I can safely walk on these crutches a long distance in a smaller cast.  Can you please tell me which dates in September and October that you will be having your meetings at the La Crescenta Station, so I can attend?? Also which rescue number was I for this year???? I go to your website often, yet for some reason, my computer freezes up whenever I try and go to any of your links to view your video, guest book, or any other sites.  I have a G-5 Mac, and wonder if any others tell you the same thing.  Someone also took a photo of my rescue that night with me in the basket, and the whole team that night, and I would dearly love a copy of the photo for my family archives. Is it possible to find out which member has it and to inquire if I may have one?????  Thanks for giving me MY LIFE and bst regards to all of the team.  I can't wait to meet you and thank you all in person!!!! Be safe, much gratitude, Bridget Duffy   RESCUE # ?????

From Monday, August 13th

Thanks so much for your photos!!! I wish you had photographed your stalwart team together in this heroic effort!! I would have liked a record of all of you involved, yet I hope to get the chance to meet all of you once I am able during one of the meetings.  Yes, the breaks were very bad...three of them completely across the entire ankle, but the stress to the skin from the dislocation caused a terrible infection that prolonged the healing by another month or so.  I won't be able to return to my profession of painting scenery for TV,film, and theatre till after the New Year, but I am already oil paiinting again w/my cast propped up.  My talented family is decorating my cast bit by bit, as both sons are professional artists as well as many friends also from my union. So here is a photo for you to share w/the team showing my "work of art" that I intend to save for posterity! Love to all of YOU!!!! Rescue #46!  That is my new lucky number!!!!!!!! (Bridget Duffy)