Esteemed Salt Lake City defence attorney, David Finlayson, was badly injured while hiking with his young son deep in the Idaho wilderness last week.
Avid explorer and decorated boy scout, Charlie Finlayson, 13, literally helped save his dad’s life after a refrigerator-sized boulder became dislodged and struck the 52-year-old, causing him to tumble 20 to 30 feet down a steep ravine. David and his son were scouting a climbing route while camped at Ship Island Lake when the accident occurred.
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David suffered a broken back, left arm and left heel. He also received numerous contusions, including a foot-long laceration on his shin that was to the bone. Charlie immediately sprung into action tending to his badly injured father for the next two and a half days.
“They should have a badge for rescuing your old man,” David Finlayson said Tuesday by phone from Utah. “Dumb luck. It didn’t come off too far above me, so it [the boulder] wasn’t rolling too fast,” Finlayson said. h/t idahostatesman.
Soon the pair would face another daunting realization, they were over a dozen miles from civilization and not due home for another 12 days. After some heavy contemplation and a few hammered tears, Charlie set out solo, covering miles of rough terrain in search of help.
“He was just afraid to leave me because he didn’t know … didn’t know if he’d see me again,” Finlayson said. “He was my savior, I was bleeding to death and he just kind of coached me along with the pain and tried to help me not pass out. He kept talking to me all night.”
Brave Charlie finally reached fellow hikers who then enlisted the help of the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office. The department responded to the scene with a helicopter that was forced to hover over David before reeling him up on a stretcher.
David is now on the mend after undergoing several surgeries and facing a few more. He is expected to make a full recovery. Oh and as for Charlie? He is said to be thoroughly enjoying his newly well earned hero status.
