MAMMOTH, Mont. — A Holland native is trying to track down a couple who helped save his life after a near-deadly fall at Yellowstone National Park.
Ryan Eisele moved from Holland to Montana when he was a 11 years old, a few months later he took a fall that would have been deadly if not for the actions of two people who were there that day.
“We went to Yellowstone for a picnic and we were going through the park, Yellowstone Lake, Ol’ Faithful and all that and we went five miles south of Mammoth and we went into an old rock formation that was extinct geysers from hundreds of thousands of years ago,” Eisele said.
On Sept. 28, 2002, Ryan was with his dad taking photos from atop the rock formations.
“Some are 50 feet some are higher than the pine trees,” Eisele explained.
He was on one about 50 feet high, when he lost his footing.
“I just went tumbling and once I hit the bottom I looked up and rolled my eyes back and I just fell limp. All I know is that they heard my dad screaming, like someone dear God help me,” Eisele added.
Honeymooners from New York heard those cries for help and luckily they had a cellphone.
“Back in 2002, there was no cell-service there, they must have had a satellite phone. They heard (my dad) yelling and screaming for help, they came and the set me at the bottom of the hill on one of their blankets and started giving me first aid until emergency personnel arrived,” Eisele retold.
He was flown to a hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery.
That couple likely saved his life.
“I would probably drop my mouth in awe if I found them,” Eisele said.
The fall has left Ryan with epilepsy and other challenges, but also a new appreciation of life. One the 28-year-old new father wants to share with the couple who helped make it possible.
“What I would tell them is how much I’ve achieved in my lifetime and how far I’ve come and the obstacles and elaborating how I’m a father of my own now and its great, it’s a great feeling and I would just thank them. I would cry and give them a hug,” Eisele explained.
Ryan’s hoping to find the couple from New York who were celebrating their honeymoon at Yellowstone National Park in September of 2002.
