One year later, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister returns to thank GRMC 111218

: Category: Front Page News Front Page News; Published: 12 November 2018 12 November 2018

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister was treated last year at Gila Regional Medical Center on about Nov. 12, after he had become lost on a trail in the Gila Wilderness after dark, fell and slid down a slope through cactus and brush. His arm was badly broken, but Gila Regional took care of him.

Ten years before 2017, Brian Pallister and his wife Ester had spent a week hiking all over the Gila National Forest and Wilderness. They loved it so much, they decided to come back last year about this same time of year to hike some more.

Their trail of choice this time was the Rain Creek-Mogollon Trail near Alma.

The Rain Creek-Mogollon Trail is described in the Falcon Guides "Hiking New Mexico's Gila Wilderness" by Bill and Polly Cunningham: "This route is the best and most interesting shuttle hike in this isolated southwestern corner of the Wilderness. The mountain vistas are spectacular, the terrain is challenging, and the solitude is complete.

"This adventurous and highly rewarding sweep across the west-central end of the Gila Wilderness touches, and offers views beyond of, the incredibly rugged south-draining canyons of the Mogollon Mountains. The one-way shuttle driving distance between trailheads is 12 miles, less than the length of the hike."

"The trails had changed in those 10 years because of fires and flooding," Esther said. "They were not maintained as well as when we had previously hiked them."

Esther and Brian started out at different ends of the trail, would meet in the middle and return to their vehicle.

"When it started getting dark and I thought I couldn't make it all the way, I decided to turn around, and I got lost," Brian Pallister said. "It's only one of two times I have ever turned around on a hike."

He said it got dark about 5:30 p.m. and he kept going on the rugged trail, with no light to aid his trek. He had on short sleeves and shorts. As the night went on, it got chillier. He fell down a slope, braced himself with his left arm, and "I'm left-handed, but I kept thinking, 'I gotta keep moving.'" He was in pain from the broken arm and didn't realize he had many scrapes and cuts and had also sprained his ankles and right knee.

Esther realized he was likely lost and called for help.

When Brian saw a light about 9:30, "I made a beeline toward it, but it kept disappearing."

The light he had seen was a New Mexico State Police patrol car that had been dispatched to help find him.
Brian said he yelled as loud as he could and the patrolman, Justin McNett, was the first to find him, about a mile from the trailhead.

McNett said he had been dispatched to find the missing Canadian. "You told me you were the Manitoba premier," McNett said to Brian, "but I didn't know what that was. I just knew he was hurt, and we had to get care for him."

"He had the best water I had ever tasted," Brian, who by then was suffering from dehydration, said. "It was about 11 o'clock by the time we arrived at Gila Regional Medical Center. Dr. (Tsering) Sherpa took care of me. She told me it was not a good injury. I'm left-handed and I had shattered my humerus. To this day, I regret my reply when she told me she thought I had broken my humerus. I said: 'That's not funny.'"

Dr. Roberto Carreon, local orthopedist, operated on the arm to put it back together. Pallister was in the hospital overnight and released the next day.

"I had my arm in a sling for months," Brian said. "The pain was bad, and the therapy was really bad. What I didn't realize was that when you are not using your shoulder and back muscles for that length of time, they atrophy. It took a long time to get my strength back, but I'm pretty much now back to my usual self. My motivation was to hike this trail again, better prepared and in the light."

When he went to visit the orthopedist in Winnipeg, where they live, the doctor told him if he had slid much farther, he likely would have lost his arm, because it was being held together with muscle and tendons.
He and his wife decided to return to Silver City to thank the doctors and nurses, as well as the state policeman who had found and rescued him.

"My treatment here at Gila Regional Medical Center was first class from start to finish," Brian said. "We truly appreciate the care I received."

He and his wife presented a certificate of appreciation from the Manitoba legislative assembly to GRMC Chief Executive Officer Taffy Arias and Chief Financial Officer Richard Stokes. They presented Justin McNett with a jersey from the Winnipeg Jets, who Brian predicted would win the Stanley Cup this season. They also presented a Canadian flag to the hospital.

Tuesday, Nov. 13, they plan to start early in the morning and hike the Rain Creek-Mogollon Trail. "We're hiking together this time," Esther said.

Because in all their hiking in the Gila, they have never been to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, that is their planned destination on Wednesday. Then they will return home by way of Phoenix where they will visit friends.

"This is a magnificent place to explore," Brian said.

"We'll be back to Silver City," Esther said, as they left the hospital.

{{{_source.title}}} {{#_source.showPrice}} {{{_source.displayPrice}}} {{/_source.showPrice}}

One year later, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister returns to thank GRMC 111218

Content on the Beat

Submitting to the Beat

Editor's Notes