The California teenager, who left the cliff experiencing altitude-related hallucinations in the highest mountains in the 48 states, recovers slowly but remains in a medically induced coma, his family said.
Earlier this month, 14-year-old Zane Wach climbed Mount Whitney in Sierra Nevada along with Ryan, an experienced hiker, on the climber’s route. As the wax began to descend towards the car on a safer route, Zane began to experience “snowman” hallucinations on the trail, and was in “a change in mental state,” Ryan Wach told SFGATE.
“It was totally strange,” Wach said in an interview with SFGATE. “He doesn’t know if he’s dreaming or not, but he said he’s shook his head incredibly, like, ‘This isn’t real.’ Just like he was in the movie “Inception” or something. ”
According to the U.S. Forest Service, Mount Whitney Peaks attracts 30,000 hikers each year, with an average of two suffering fatal injuries each year. Climbers who want to rise during peak spring and summer from May 1st to November 1st must apply for a permit through the lottery system. This limits the mountain to 100 climbers per day, with only 60 for “difficult” accommodation.
The climber’s route is a path where experienced hikers ascend to the summit of Mount Whitney, which is over 14,000 feet above sea level. It is unclear whether WACHS has reached the summit, but according to the CDC, travelers reaching 8,000 feet altitudes are more susceptible to severe illnesses and symptoms, such as the confusion and emotions of “addicted” that are usually associated with swelling in the brain.
Zane went in and out of delirium as he continued his descent, and the two stopped regularly, Wach told the Independent while Zane tried to regain clarity. Wach added that his son was “sleepwalking” from his father towards the edge of the trail.
Another group of hikers, including EMT, assessed Zane’s condition after noticing his mental deterioration. Wach told the Independent that after temporarily undressing his son’s eyes, Zayn “snatched” towards the edge of the deep slope, falling to an estimated 120 feet.
“I cried out because I didn’t know if there was a way for him to survive that. I was screaming, ‘No’,” Wach told the Independent.
However, Zane was semi-conscious when his father arrived at him and a nearby hiker contacted the rescue team, Wach said. The Inyo County Search and Rescue team worked about six hours to rescue Zane as his father tried to warm him up, authorities said.
Zane was taken to Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas, the nearest pediatric trauma center, according to his family Gofundme. Zane suffered from head injuries and was placed in a medically induced coma, but he escaped major physical injuries. Wach told SFGate that his son broke his ankle and toes and smashed part of his pelvis.
Zane remains in a medically induced coma state, but in a Facebook post shared by Zane’s grandmother, she began breathing without medical assistance nearly three weeks after falling into a “huge milestone” towards his recovery.
Wach added that doctors are now trying to pull Zane away from the heavy drugs.
“He has been taking many heavy medications for a while and getting off them is very hard and painful,” Wach wrote. “As parents, it’s awful to see, so let him go through this.
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