LINDALE, Texas — It's been a year and a half since an East Texas teenager's life was forever changed because of a Colorado skiing accident during a spring break last year. This month, she was reunited with emergency responders who she said saved her life.
Hannah Evans was a cheerleader at Lindale High School and president of student council. But that all changed in March 2023 during her senior trip to Colorado.
“We went skiing, I took the wrong lift, and then going down, I kind of panicked and hit a couple of trees,” Evans said.
Her life changed in an instant.
“Immediately, I knew my back was broken because I couldn't feel my legs,” she said
Despite the initial fears, Evans was battling for her life with a laundry list of injuries she sustained that day.
“Three broken vertebrae; I broke almost all my ribs on the right side. I cracked my pelvis, dislocated my right femur, broke my left one in half and I had a punctured lung,” Evans said.
Skiers and emergency crews quickly rushed to her aid.
“Snow Patrol got me down the mountain and then flight for life saved me,” she said.
Evans spent 113 days in Denver medical care going through countless surgeries, procedures and rehabilitation, causing her to miss numerous life milestones in the process like prom and graduation.
This month, she traveled back to Denver for a symposium to speak at the hospital she stayed at when she was in intensive care. While there, she was surprised to meet some familiar faces
“They surprised me with the Flight for Life EMTs who rescued me on the day that I got hurt and that was just an incredible experience,” Evans said. "They were my angels that day."
Nearly two years since her accident, Evans is still adjusting to her new life.
“I constantly run into things that make life slightly more difficult but I'm never without people willing to make sure that whatever I want to do is possible,” She said.
Evans had to relearn how to live life without walking, but it's not something overly worried about.
“Healed to me, isn't necessarily walking but it's being safe and no longer being in the hospital. And I think that's right now enough for me,” Evans said. “Maybe one day I'll walk, maybe I won't, but I don't think it's one of those things that I necessarily need to be happy or to have a future.”
She has since been on an extensive road to recovery, training her body so she can be more independent.
“Working on my core balance and my arm strength and so much of that has helped me navigate this world,” Evans said
Despite her condition, Evans and her family have a great outlook on life and are contagiously positive.
“After everything I've been through, I think I understand more about how important my relationships are,” Evans said. “My relationship with the Lord, the people around me, my family and those are the things that I put at the top of my priority list.”
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