I have not updated this blog for more than two months, and I wish I had no excuse. Unfortunately, I have a reason, and it’s one of the worst reasons I can imagine.

I was involved in a huge climbing accident in Turkey. Due to an error in ropework, Rannveig fell 50 feet from the top of a cliff and landed on a platau of hard limestone. I may post a full recount of the story here at a later date, but the long and the short of it is that she miraculously survived but suffered severe injuries. Starting from her feet and working up, she broke 3 metatarsals, 2 tiny mid-foot bones, both talus bones (the weight bearing bone of the ankle), a heel bone, a fibula and a tibia, her pubic bone, her sacrum, 2 vertebrae and her ulna. She had two ankle dislocations and bones protruding from an ankle and an elbow. Thankfully had no neurologic or head injuries.

I stabilized her spine until an ambulance arrived nearly an hour later, and throughout that time I had no idea if she would live or die. She was bleeding from her scalp, did not know where she was, and was in great pain. A 50 foot fall borders the death zone, where your internal organs separate from their blood supplies upon impact. Thankfully, about a dozen other climbers from around the world were there to help.

We were rushed to a hospital in Antalya where she underwent emergency surgery that night. I spent a nerve-wracking 5 hours waiting to see what would happen. The first thing she said when she woke up was: “I’m alive. Fuck yeah!” Quote of a lifetime, and my sentiments exactly.

She had another surgery the next day, and within a few more days thanks to the help of some incredibly empathetic and kind strangers, we were repatriated to her home country of Norway on an air ambulance. As soon as we arrived in Trondheim, she insisted on having some weights to keep her only functioning limb in shape. I was sitting on the couch and looked up to see this. Keep in mind both her legs are in casts and she’s got a pair of 8 inch pins protruding from each ankle.

After we cleared an MRSA quarantine, she had a third surgery, where her elbow and ankles were stabilized with plates and I can’t even remember how many screws. We bounced around hospitals and rehabilitation centers for the ensuing 7 weeks.

Although she faces months of rehabilitation, she is now walking, doing push-ups, and is able to hang on a pull-up bar with her elbow. Not once has she felt sorry for herself, felt depressed, or even complained. Instead, she approaches each new challenge with poise, grace, and courage. At one point, frustrated that her hand exercises were benefitting only her, she asked her therapist to give her a job so that she could produce something for someone else. Instead of squeezing a hand trainer (actually, in her case, grains of rice — great forearm exercise), she began to squeeze oranges.

If you’re wondering how this impacts Dreamtime Images, fret not. I’ve shot 4 weddings since June 15 in Colorado, and have lots more to come. I’m spending my July 4th editing photos, but understandably I’ve fallen horribly behind on blogging. Please bear with me. I promise, I’ve got some good stuff to show.