SEATTLE -- Trapped in her truck for hours following a rollover crash, a young woman from the Walla Walla area didn't know if she'd survive. Noel Shannon, 23, even considered amputating her own leg to break free.
After 11 days at Harborview Medical Center, Shannon considers every small step a victory.
I don t take things for granted anymore, said Shannon. It s still shocking for me. I can t believe I m here.
It's a shock she's been feeling since July 5, when she swerved her pickup truck to avoid a deer on Government Mountain Road near Walla Walla and lost control.
My pick-up rolled several times and my window was down so my leg flew out the window and the cab landed on my leg about right here, she said.
Trapped for 10 hours, Shannon began using items in her truck to dig herself out. She even considered using her keys to amputate her leg.
Most of the time, I was screaming, yelling, and crying and flashing my lights that somebody would see me or hear me, she said.
Once free, she dragged herself up the hill using a floor mat. While her will to live may have sustained her, it was the kindness of strangers, Dax McReynolds and Christian Triance, that would ultimately save her as they rushed her to safety.
I hear this rumble and I kind of look over my shoulder and then I see this older Toyota coming up the road and they were like angels, said Shannon.
While it was too late to save her leg, Shannon doesn't take for granted that she's alive.
No one wants to lose a leg, but at least I'm here, she said.
Her family, who have stayed by her side since the crash, feels the same way too.
It's heartbreaking but at the same time, I'm proud that she s so strong, said Christa Shannon, Noel's mother.
Noel Shannon's family and friends are now raising funds for her medical bills and a running prosthetic leg.
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