Ken Ward

Juneau, AK

As owner and host of Taku Glacier Lodge, a remote flightseeing destination, Ken Ward set out with a small crew last March to collect 20 cords of firewood for the upcoming season. But when he decided to take a shortcut and climb up a riverbank, the fairly vertical slope proved too steep for his snowmobile. Ken fell backward and the 800-pound machine fell on top of him, leaving him pinned. “I can still feel every pound,” jokes Ken, who compares the impact to a 10- to 12-foot fall. Fortunately, his crew managed to free him from the machine quickly and arranged to have him evacuated to Bartlett Regional Hospital. There, doctors determined that Ken had multiple fractures to his back and neck. He was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where he was immobilized and in traction for two weeks. He returned home in a neck cast and continued his recuperation in Juneau with rest and physical therapy. “It’s been a long, slow process,” says Ken. “But we’re slowly getting the muscle strength back.” Ken plans to collect firewood again this year. “But I’ll stick to the trails,” he jokes.

Bartlett Regional Hospital (Juneau, AK) to Harborview Medical Center

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