After survival instincts kicked in, woman finds help from St. Luke’s team member, friend in backcountry rescue

Once so energizing, the afternoon sun took its toll on Kelly Rockwood on Aug. 3.

She had been crawling for three hours alongside a trail in the Sawtooth Wilderness near the Wood River Valley. Her leg was broken, her cell phone crushed, her head hurt and she was getting dehydrated.

As she moved foot after agonizing foot, she was already heartbroken, knowing her trail-riding companion, her horse Tanner, was likely not going to make it out.

Having made it about a half mile toward the trailhead, she suddenly heard a human sound — two dirt bikes coming her way.

“It was the worst few hours of my life, but in that moment seeing those two boys, I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to see another person,” Rockwood said.

Though the concept of luck was far from her mind, those two riders were the perfect pair to find her.

Dave Sundholm, a medical imaging senior technologist at St. Luke’s Wood River, and his friend Matt Gelso, who is an EMT and serves in the Sun Valley Fire Department, were on a ride together, but prepared for just an occasion.

“Matt’s job speaks for itself, but I have volunteered in search and rescue for 20 years, taught outdoor emergency care for a bit, too,” said Sundholm, who has worked at the Wood River hospital for 31 years.

As Gelso used a satellite communicator to get help, Sundholm slightly oriented Rockwood’s fracture tibia-fibula, then used a small saw he carried to cut some willow branches into a makeshift splint. The pair leaned her against their backpacks, set up some shade with their jackets and gave her some electrolyte-enhanced water.

Within an hour, an Air St. Luke’s crew landed in a meadow about 500 feet away, just after a ground team arrived to carry Rockwood into the awaiting helicopter.

Said Rockwood: “I’m eternally grateful for those two … someone or something was looking out for me.”

“It’s just what we do,” Sundholm said. “I’m sure most people would have done the same. Maybe not exactly what we did, but they’d have helped.”

Sundholm’s advice for anyone heading into the backcountry is to certainly be prepared: Consider carrying a first-aid kit — it doesn’t have to be large — and a satellite communication device. Rockwood purchased one after the events of Aug. 3.

Rockwood has been an equestrian since she was 10 years old and nothing was out of the ordinary that day. She had told her husband where she was going; she knew if she didn’t return on time that he would know where to go. It was only 40 minutes in when Rockwood and her horse reached a narrow point, steep upward to the right and downward to the left.

Tanner had been in more difficult conditions, but after cresting an uphill portion, went off the trail a bit to the right. That sent Rockwood tumbling about 30 feet, breaking her leg and hitting her head on a rock. Still, she climbed back up to her horse, laying on his side. Clearly scared, Tanner rocketed up with so much strength, he fell about 200 feet down the hillside into a small stream.

“I went back down, I knew there wasn’t much I could do, but I took off the saddle and the bridle, had to get back on the trail to find help, so I climbed back up,” she said.

When Sundholm and Gelso arrived, they were told about Tanner. Sundholm went down the stream to find him, still breathing. He adjusted his head to breathe better, but the horse was not moving. Sadly, the horse was humanely put down by Rockwood’s husband after he arrived to the scene.

“I’m still not over the grief,” Rockwood said. “He was like a soulmate.”

Sometime in the near future, Rockwood may get another horse, but that’s not her focus. She’s set to “finally” get back on her feet, bearing weight, in October. Rockwood had the tib-fib fracture along with a broken ankle. The long time spent crawling created a sizeable wound, and as such, Rockwood has been treated by Nurse Practitioner Amanda Allaire at St. Luke's Clinic - Wound Care: Ketchum.

She also was impressed with the Air St. Luke’s team, piloted by Coleen Leonard.

“It was a blur until I started getting up in the air, but I was blown away by their preparedness in dealing with trauma,” Rockwood said. “It’s been a journey, but one I’m happy to make because I’m still here.”

Though Rockwood has not seen Sundholm and Gelso since that day, she is hoping to find a way to connect soon to say thank you.

“It was a change of plans, but it made it memorable, that’s for sure,” Sundholm said. “She’s obviously an incredibly tough person and just needed a little help, which we were glad to do.”