Michael Harris was skiing at Stevens Pass Ski Resort in Washington on Thursday, February 26, when he suddenly got caught in an avalanche. Trapped under the snow for more than four hours, he didn’t know if he’d survive, until his wife used the “Find My iPhone” feature to locate and rescue him.
Realizing her husband was missing, Penny tried to call Michael’s phone, but he wasn’t able to pick up. She decided to try the Find My app to locate him, and noticed that his phone hadn’t moved for the past three hours. “You get a feeling something’s just not right,” she recalled. “I followed my intuition, saw his location, checked it a couple times and saw it wasn’t moving.”
Penny was able to contact ski patrol and give them the location of Michael’s phone. Before long, the family received word that he had been found and was being brought down by sled. Rushed to hospital, Michael was hypothermic, with a contused lung, pneumonia, kidney injuries, and a right tibial plateau fracture. “It is a true miracle that he survived and didn’t sustain life altering or life threatening injuries,” his daughter Lauren said in a GoFundMe campaign set up to help cover some of the family’s medical costs. “I have been thanking God since the incident that he is still here with us.”
Now recovering at home after surgery, Michael is receiving regular physiotherapy and is starting to regain mobility in his legs. He’s incredibly thankful to his wife for saving his life, and to all the people who donated to the GoFundMe campaign, which as of writing has raised over $38,000.
“As I lay here in bed typing this post, I’ve started to notice my breathing. Inhale. Exhale. All Automatic,” he wrote in an update. “I’m in awe of the abundance of oxygen I can freely access, while just 10 days ago on that mountain it was a precious and limited resource I had come close to exhausting.” Michael added, “We all need it to live and thrive, yet it’s always just there. So easy to take for granted but this morning, every breath feels precious and something to be savored.”
Michael Harris was skiing at Stevens Pass Ski Resort in Washington on Thursday, February 26, when he suddenly got caught in an avalanche.
He was under the snow for more than four hours, until his wife used the “Find My iPhone” feature to locate and rescue him.
Michael was hypothermic, with a contused lung, pneumonia, kidney injuries, and a right tibial plateau fracture. His family set up a GoFundMe campaign to cover his medical costs.
Sources: Help Michael Recover from Avalanche Injuries; Wife Used ‘Find My iPhone’ to Locate Husband Who Was Buried for Over 4 Hours After Avalanche
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