Emergency Grant Relief Story: Richard Falls
Richard Falls, an employee at Keystone, started to experience intense pain in his abdomen while paddleboarding with his family.
This is his story.
"On June 17th, I was riding my bike at Ruby Hill Bike Park when I took a spill coming off a jump into a berm. Having fallen and broken ribs before I didn’t think much of it at the time. I was able to get up, shake it off and make it home. Chalking the fall up to just some bruising and maybe a broken rib or two, I didn’t get checked out or anything. I even went for another bike ride at Floyd Hill Open Space on Saturday and felt pretty good.
On Sunday we went to Bear Creek Lake Park, where we casually SUPed around the lake. As I reached the other side, I started experiencing intense stomach pains, leading to my abdomen seizing up and leaving me in extreme pain and having extreme difficulties moving. I was able to make it back to shore, where I was eventually able to make it home. Not knowing what was going on I started googling what I was experiencing, and everything pointed to a spleen laceration, which could be very serious if not treated by a doctor.
In that moment I had a panic attack and eventually was able to get to the hospital where I received a CAT scan that showed 90% of my spleen was injured, a liver laceration and gnarly internal bleeding. I was monitored by the amazing nurses and doctors in the hospital for three days, waiting for my hemoglobin level to stabilize. After three days and a couple scares, everything started to stabilize, and they were able to save my spleen!
Through this experience, I acquired a tremendous amount of medical bills. I had applied for financial assistance with the hospital and was denied. Then, on September 30th I received an email from the Epic Promise Foundation telling Jon and Mardi’s story. At the end of the e-mail it said, “We’re Here To Support You, Too.” This message was all the hope I needed in that moment. I wasn’t sure if I would qualify, but just knowing that Vail Resorts gave me the option to apply relieved a lot of the stress. On November 13th, the EpicPromise Employee Foundation had awarded me an Emergency Relief grant.
This whole experience still feels so surreal. The stress and anxiety that this has relieved can hardly be put into words. Our family is so grateful to Vail Resorts and the EpicPromise Employee Foundation."
