Hayley's Plane Crash

Caledon, March 9, 2013

On the morning of June 2, 2012, one month after arriving home from Janet's home in Carlsbad, Hayley, Janet's granddaughter was in a horrific plane crash in Mexico. She was volunteering at a medical clinic in northwest Mexico for LIGA The Flying Doctors of Mercy. 

The pilot, for some inexplicable reason decided to fly low over the over the El Fuerte river. His aircraft hit power lines and crashed into the water. He didn't survive. But his three teenaged passengers did, thanks to the quick thinking of nearby fishermen.

They pulled the passengers from the water and wreckage, dragged them to shore, and administered first aid until the ambulances came. All teens were injured, Hayley the most severely. She sustained a serious brian injury. She was placed into an induced coma.

After a few days at a Mexican hospital on the coast, Hayley was airlifted to the University of California San Diego Trauma Center where for 42 days she fought for her life and cognition. For two months we all felt sick and frightened. I can't imagine how it must have been for Janet. But miraculously Hayley started to recover, even though her prognosis was dire.

Unbelievably, in January Hayley took the spot the university had saved for her. She began her freshman year with a half course load and has just completed a successful fund raising initiative for brian injuries. 

Not long after the accident, Janet set up an educational fund for the fishermen's' children. To date Janet and her team has raised $8250. Some of this has already been disbursed. A class act.

Have a look at the video below. It shows the crash site and traces Hayley's progress. It's heart rending.