From an Icy Slope, To a Medical Miracle

By Ian Rudiger




Speeding down an icy slope at many miles per hour, falling down on a very icy slope and having a body temperature of 56 degrees. This is what happened to a woman from Norway and it is true story. When I read this article I was amazed I thought it was a miracle. I thought she must have had a super power or something on the lines of that to come back to life. But no it was not true. Bagenholm had survived one of the most tragic ski accidents ever. When she was brought on helicopter to the University Hospital of North Norway her body temperature was 56 degrees and there had never been someone whose body temperature was that low that had survived for that long. Bagenholm was a very good skier and was going down when she her ski got tripped up by a rock, she spun to the left and fell tumbled and got stuck in ice a wile down in a icy slope craves. Her friends panicked as they skied down to see what had happened they called for help to get a helicopter and more rescue crew and so two rescue members came one from the bottom and one from the top. They got there in time the top rescue member got there first and did not have proper equipment to be able to help much; the second rescue crew member that came from the bottom had a small shovel. They used it to cut a hole in the ice big enough to get Bagenholm out by rope.


It was an amazing thing that day that changed that woman’s life forever she still lives to tell the remarkable story today. This happened in 1999 but the reason I’m sharing this is because what happened changed lots of medical theories and other things like her life. What happened changed everything from the slope that still has a shovel hanging from a tree where it had happened to the writing that got changed in a college medical journal.

The reason why I think this is so important is that one little slip could change someone’s entire life. That is why this is such a big deal is that a what happened on that day wasn’t just one single miracle what it means is that person would not be with us today if it wasn’t for that miracle then Bagenholm wouldn’t be with us today to share the story and ski the amazing slopes of Norway. The lesson that I learned is to never give up on someone.