Woman who fell from southern Utah cliffside reunites with life-saving medical team

LA VERKIN, Utah ( ABC4 ) — Last year a woman from Wyoming tripped on a rock and fell head-first off of a cliffside in La Verkin, breaking her neck and spine in multiple places as well as other bones in her legs.

On Thursday, she made the trip back to St. George to meet with the nurses and doctors who saved her life on that fateful day.

In April 2023, Caren Connor was out on a walk with her husband and their three dogs when she said she caught a whiff of a strong smell from the cliffside. When she walked over to find the cause of the smell, she tripped, falling more than 40 feet.

Connor landed on her head, breaking her spine and neck in several places among other injuries.

“As a nurse, I know how bad that injury could’ve been and it was just crazy lucky that I didn’t have a brain injury. No internal organs were injured, no cracked ribs even. Just the right leg, the left ankle, the head, the neck was broken. But I could still feel everything and I’m still moving so I’ll take it any day,” Connor said.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, she drove eight hours from her home in Wyoming to thank all of the workers at Intermountain who had a hand in her rescue and recovery.

“Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “Being a nurse you don’t realize the impact that you have on people’s lives and you guys had a huge impact on me. Everybody did.”

Rylee Olson was on the life flight helicopter as a nurse and says the struggle is worth saving a life.

“It’s very touching and it makes it worthwhile. You get burnt out of this job very easy. It takes a toll on you mentally. I don’t do it for the thank you, but being able to see … that the decisions we made to care for her positively impacted her outcome, that’s what’s amazing,” Olson said.

After the accident, Connor discovered the smell on the cliffside was from a dead cow. She’s grateful she didn’t end up in the same condition.

“Honestly, the biggest thing is go with somebody else, because if I hadn’t had my husband with me I would probably would’ve been hanging out with the cow for I don’t know how long,” she said.

Less than a year and a half after the incident, she says she is nearly 90 percent recovered.

“Somebody told me, oh you should just go buy a lottery ticket,” she said. “I already won the lottery in two huge ways. I’m still alive and I’m not paralyzed.”

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