Woman Impaled in Neck by Branch Is OK

(CBS/AP)  A northern Idaho woman who was impaled in the neck by a tree limb during a recreational drive over the Labor Day weekend says she "can't believe I'm here" to tell about it.

Michelle Childers, 20, and her husband were driving down a rural road along a river in the north-central part of the state on Sept. 5 when a spruce tree crashed through the passenger side window of their pickup truck.

Childers, a Kamiah, Ida. native, said on "The Early Show Saturday Edition" that, "It came out of nowhere. We had went around a blind corner and we're assuming that this tree was stuck out into the road and the way we took the corner, it just came in through the passenger window and stuck into my neck, and then broke off on the cab of the truck. But it happened so fast and it was loud, it was like an explosion. And I didn't know what happened.

"I didn't feel it go in," Childers told co-anchor Erica Hill. "It just felt like a lot of pressure, like maybe a tree had fallen on me and was pinning me against the seat, is what I thought had happened. And then I had asked (her husband) Daniel (who happens to work in the timber industry), 'My gosh, what happened?' And he told me, 'It's in your neck.' And at that point, I was just -- 'Take a deep breath and we'll get through this.' "

With no cell phone service in the area, the couple drove to the Lochsa Lodge, near the Idaho-Montana border, to call for help and arrived about an hour after the tree limb went into her.

Daniel told Hill that driving that long under such pressure "was really bad. I about passed out a couple times."

While Childers waited to be flown by helicopter to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Mont., she said a nurse and her husband were staying at the lodge and tried to calm her down.

"So, here I am sitting in a pickup with all these wonderful people around me and a 13-inch spruce limb with branches coming off it still in my neck," Childers told KHQ-TV.

"She says, 'You look OK, and you're going to be fine.' And I believed her," Childers recalled for Hill. "And she said, 'You've been like this for a couple hours now. You're not bleeding. You haven't lost consciousness. You're going to be just fine.' And then, not too long after that is when I heard the helicopter. And was like, 'OK. I am going to be OK."

The 13-inch tree limb was removed from her neck during a six-hour surgery, Childers says, and she was left wearing a large piece of gauze on the scar on left side of her neck.

She told Hill she feels "lucky and grateful. ... I can't believe I'm here to look at the pictures" of her with the branch in her neck.

Childers has the branch, but says the smell is still tough for her. And because of that, no Christmas tree this year. "I just don't want it in my house. It would be uncomfortable, I think," she remarked to Hill.

Childers doesn't have insurance. Friends have set up an account for the couple at a local Sterling Savings bank location to help pay for her medical expenses.

[123amber123]

why do people have to be so rude? this woman is a miracle. can u imagine how i feel, as her sister, going through this with her, taking care of her in the hospital, and now, i get to see her everyday, we try to make the most of today because there may not be a tomorrow. just the other day, a tree fell on her car in her driveway. seeing my sister "all spruced up" is a nightmare, seeing her walking, talking, and living, is a dream come true.

[PostalOneToo]

Under the Obama health care plan, she would be covered.

[erasmus111]

by Loretta52 September 19, 2009 11:10 PM EDT
Just like peyton0921 says "You try driving the back roads in Idaho" Then you might realize that the road Daniel & Michelle were on is more like a trail. Logging companies go in and stamp out a road, get the job done, and get out. That's where they were. Take a vacation and check it out, then send us a comment. You really have no idea, just a bad opinion!!!


I have driven on many dirt roads, back roads, logging roads, and one thing I learned is that you drive very slowly, and very carefully. You never know what could be coming up on the next curve.

[erasmus111]

And if you don't know what you are doing, you shouldn't be on them.

[Loretta52]

Thankyou to everyone who actually has a heart and something nice to say. This was a tramatic experience and all people can do is make fun of it. wow

[erasmus111]

And men talk about women drivers. geez

Usually anytime a woman is in a car accident, it's usually the man's fault. He's usually trying to pass her and ends up cutting her off.

Everytime I'm in the fast lane and a guy is in the slow lane just doddling along, as soon as I pass him, all of a sudden it's the pedal to the metal. He comes out of sleep mode and is going to beat hell to pass me. What do ya call that?

[erasmus111]

by stuart-johns September 19, 2009 7:17 PM EDT
Did they crash into the tree or did the tree crash into them?



Personally, I think the husband just doesn't know how to drive and he crashed into the tree. : ) Some people just shouldn't be allowed on the road!

[Loretta52]

Why dont you come to Idaho and drive that road.

[123amber123]

personally. i think your on crack, they went around a blind corner, there was a blow over and some inconsiderate person didn't cut the tree limb back far enough so it decided to take residents in my sisters neck. thanks for the rude comment for my brother in law.

[erasmus111]

by rwsmith29456 September 19, 2009 5:59 PM EDT
No, she would be on a waiting list.



Another ignorant American. It's not hard to understand why things are so bad there.

No, she wouldn't be on a waiting list. She would have been flown to a hospital and looked after immediately. She wouldn't have to worry about ANYTHING because she would have health care.

[rwsmith29456]

It would be a lot simpler to say they sideswiped the tree rather than claiming the tree jumped out into the road and hit them.

[erasmus111]

Now if she lived in Canada, no one would have to pay for the medical expenses.

[rwsmith29456]

No, she would be on a waiting list.

[bubbadubba]

<<<<The Obama administration is now typing up the letter fining her $3800 for not having health insurance.

They expect it to be in the mail on Monday.>>>

Why is it when Obama haters try to be funny they just sound pathetic?
Back to the topic of the board, what a horrible thing to happen and I am glad the woman is alive. Something like that could happen to anyone. A woman not far from where I live was killed when an oak tree fell on her car. No storm, no nothing, it was rotted in the middle from disease and decided to fall over just as the woman drove by at 30 MPH in a neighborhood.