Saturday, May 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister Opens Up About Getting Lost, Injured In New Mexico Desert

Darpan News Desk, 21 Nov, 2017 12:53 PM
    WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister choked up Tuesday as he recounted a harrowing night in the New Mexico desert that left him lost, wandering and with a broken arm.
     
    "I am so happy to be alive. I am so thankful for the people down there," said Pallister, who paused briefly to collect himself as he gave his first comments to media since an ill-fated hike Nov. 13.
     
    His left arm, fractured in several places, remains in a sling.
     
    "It's been a humbling experience for me."
     
    Pallister was on vacation with his wife Esther when they decided to do a hike in the Gila Wilderness — a remote protected area in southwest New Mexico with limited roads, amenities and cellphone coverage.
     
    Thinking it would be a short day hike, Pallister dropped his wife off at the north end of a trail, drove to the south end and started hiking toward a meet-up point halfway, he said.
     
    The trail was much harder than expected, Pallister said. It was covered in some areas by downed trees and washed out in others by earlier flooding. As sunset came and the desert temperature dropped, Pallister, who was without a flashlight, got lost.
     
    "I ran out of light. I lost the trail," he said.
     
     
    Thank-you for the well wishes and support!

    Esther and I sat down to reflect on the events of last week. We want to thank all the responders and health care professionals we encountered during my recent ordeal in New Mexico. We are also very appreciative of all the well wishes we have received. It means so much to us and our daughters.

    Posted by Brian Pallister on Saturday, 18 November 2017
     
     
    "It wasn't a new moon but it was pretty close, and you can't see well, so I fell I don't know how many times ... probably a couple of dozen."
     
    Pallister also recalled running into barbed wire. He suffered scrapes and bruises as he stumbled along, he said, and decided to turn back. His thinking was he would either meet Esther at his starting point or retrieve their vehicle and drive to the other end and pick her up.
     
    As he made his way back, he lay down at one point, but it was too cold to stay put.
     
     
    "I was trying to cover up and rest and I just started to shake and I knew I had to get up. And I got up and saw a spotlight," he said.
     
    "I'd been wandering around in the dark for four hours, so that's where the 70 lacerations and the cactus stuff that I'm picking out of my body came from mostly."
     
    The spotlight belonged to a police officer. But after a few moments, it went out, the premier said. By this point, he was cramping with exhaustion and cold, and bleeding from some of the cuts.
     
    "I screamed as loud as I could, and the guy went, 'Whoop' with his siren and then I knew I was getting out of there."
     
    But the final trek to the spotlight would lead to the most serious injury. The spotlight came back on, Pallister walked toward it, hit some more barbed wire, climbed over it and started sliding down an embankment into a small valley out of the spotlight's range.
     
    "I slid, and my arm ... caught, spun back and that's when I broke my arm."
     
    Pallister was rescued. He spent the night in hospital, recuperated at a rental property and returned to Winnipeg on Friday.
     
    His wife had passed him at some point — he was already lost — and she made it to the trailhead where he had started and reported him missing.
     
    Pallister said he doesn't think he will need any more surgery to his arm, but his knee is going to be examined.
     
    The Opposition New Democrats have raised questions about how long Pallister was out of contact on his vacation and why days went by before the public was told about what happened.
     
    Pallister said he had a cellphone on the trip, just not on the remote hike. He said he was focused on recovering after the accident and his staff was aware of what was happening.
     
    "Had there been some type of an emergency here in Manitoba, we have a structure on our team with people delegated and designated to be in charge of that."
     
     
    Pallister and his wife plan to return at some point to the Gila Wilderness — likely with flashlights and other supplies.
     
    "No trail beats me. I'm going back."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Apology To Canadians Persecuted For Being Gay Coming Nov. 28: Justin Trudeau

    OTTAWA — Martine Roy was just 20-years-old and less than a year into her chosen career as a medical assistant with the Canadian Armed Forces at CFB Borden when military police suddenly showed up at her workplace to arrest her.

    Apology To Canadians Persecuted For Being Gay Coming Nov. 28: Justin Trudeau

    Abbotsford Const. John Davidson Didn't Like Guns, But Didn't Hesitate When Call Came

    Abbotsford Const. John Davidson Didn't Like Guns, But Didn't Hesitate When Call Came
    An Abbotsford, B.C., police constable killed in the line of duty was remembered as dedicated and caring, a man who had a gut-busting sense of humour and a dislike for guns.

    Abbotsford Const. John Davidson Didn't Like Guns, But Didn't Hesitate When Call Came

    Man And Woman Charged With Manslaughter In July Homicide In Burnaby Starbucks

    Man And Woman Charged With Manslaughter In July Homicide In Burnaby Starbucks
    Lawrence Sharpe, 40, And Oldouz Pournouruz, 35, Arrested In Relation To The Death Of Michael Page-vincelli

    Man And Woman Charged With Manslaughter In July Homicide In Burnaby Starbucks

    Motorcycle Injuries In Ontario Twice As Costly To Treat As Those From Car Collisions

    Motorcycle Injuries In Ontario Twice As Costly To Treat As Those From Car Collisions
     new study suggests motorcyclists in Ontario are three times more likely to be injured in a collision than people in automobiles, 10 times more likely to suffer serious injuries, and those injuries will cost more to treat.

    Motorcycle Injuries In Ontario Twice As Costly To Treat As Those From Car Collisions

    Taking From the Rich

    Taking From the Rich
    The first change intends to eliminate “income sprinkling,” where income is distributed to family members who earn less in order to take advantage of a lower income tax rate.

    Taking From the Rich

    Canadians Pay Most Often In Cash, But For Small Purchases, Bank Of Canada Says

    Canadians Pay Most Often In Cash, But For Small Purchases, Bank Of Canada Says
    VANCOUVER — In an increasingly digital world, most Canadians still carry physical money in their wallets and favour cash payments, especially for smaller sums, according to a new report by Canada's central bank.

    Canadians Pay Most Often In Cash, But For Small Purchases, Bank Of Canada Says