Latest news with #altitudesickness
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
14-Year-Old Suffering From Drug Withdrawal After 120-Foot Cliff Fall
Originally appeared on E! Online Ryan Wach is sharing details about his son Zane Wach's health journey. After the 14-year-old walked off a 120-foot trail ledge at California's Mount Whitney while seemingly experiencing altitude sickness, his dad offered more information about the teen's ongoing recovery since being rushed to the hospital in June. 'The hard part is that he is well into feeling the effects of withdrawal,' Ryan wrote in a Facebook post June 26, according to People. 'He's been on a lot of heavy drugs for a while and getting off those is extremely hard and painful. As parents, it's terrible to watch.' He added, 'We hope he gets through this with the least possible suffering.' While Zane's recovery hasn't been without its challenges, he appears to be moving in the right direction. 'I'm pleased to report that I have nothing to report from the last day, which is exactly what we wanted,' Ryan wrote in a post on Instagram June 16. 'No changes whatsoever; compete stability in Zane's current condition.' As Zane's road to recovery continues, read on to learn about more frightening accidents. More from E! Online Jinger Duggar Details "Wild" Visit to Family's Home in Arkansas Sean "Diddy" Combs' Personal Chef Says She Fears for Her Safety After Verdict How Many Years in Prison Does Sean "Diddy" Combs Face? What to Know After Verdict And that steadiness appears to have paved the way for some small but significant milestones in recent weeks. 'I would say he has actually had some minor reduction in swelling in his face, hands, joints,' Ryan continued, adding that his son 'has been tolerating liquid feeding, which is also great.' Ryan later shared another sign of Zane's continued progress. 'Zane had the breathing tube removed and taken off the [ventilator],' Ryan wrote in the June 26 Facebook post. 'This was a giant milestone and opens the door to many new steps forward. He's not doing much else at the moment, the largest focus is watching closely so that he does well breathing on his own as well and being able to cough and swallow.' Zane's journey began June 10 as he and his dad made their way down from the mountain's 14,505-foot peak, when he appeared to lose touch with reality. After Ryan successfully prevented him from walking off the slope, the boy made another attempt to venture off. 'This time, I didn't hear it until he was about at the edge, and when I went to reach for him, he was 10 feet away from me,' Ryan told SFGATE in an interview published June 25. 'I couldn't get him, and he walked off the edge.' After being tended to by a nearby hiker, Zane was taken to hospital and placed in a medically-induced coma. And while Ryan admitted his family is 'still in the middle of' their ordeal, he was hopeful about Zane's future, declaring, 'It's going to be a survival story in the end.' As Zane's road to recovery continues, read on to learn about more frightening accidents. Maddie AldridgeRebel WilsonJimmy FallonZane WachJeremy RennerTrigg KiserCara HodgsonJuliana MarinsTori SpellingTony KnightSanjay ShahOrlando Bloom For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Teenager reaches 'giant milestone' after falling 120ft from a cliff when altitude sickness made him hallucinate
A 14-year-old boy appears to be on the road to recovery weeks after walking off a 120-foot cliff during a hike on California 's Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States. Zane Wach was placed into a coma following the harrowing incident in which the teenager began hallucinating due to what doctors believe was altitude sickness. His father, Ryan Wach, shared the news his son reached his first 'giant milestone' after having his breathing tube removed. 'I'll be brief today as it was a big day but very hard,' Ryan wrote. 'Zane had the breathing tube removed and was taken off the [ventilator]. This was a giant milestone and opens the door to many new steps forward. 'He's not doing much else at the moment, the largest focus is watching closely so that he does well breathing on his own as well and being able to cough and swallow. 'The hard part is that he is well into feeling the effects of withdrawal,' the doting dad explained. 'He's been on a lot of heavy drugs for a while and getting off those is extremely hard and painful. As parents, it's terrible to watch. We hope he gets through this with the least possible suffering.' Ryan witnessed his son's fall and earlier told how the teenager was just out of reach when he fell over the side of the cliff. He said there was nothing he could do to prevent the fall. The trouble began on June 10 as the pair summited the 14,505-foot peak of California's Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States. Zane suddenly starting feeling the affects of altitude sickness and began hallucinating while starting talking nonsense. 'He said, like those snow patches down there, they look like snowmen. Or those green lakes in the distance, I see Kermit the Frog and his friends and a few other random things. 'He told me he couldn't tell if he was dreaming or not.' said Ryan. 'And then he said he was going to the car. But the car was thousands of feet below us.' 'I've never seen anything like it,' Ryan told SFGate. 'He wasn't making sudden movements, but it was like he was sleepwalking. I didn't trust what he might do. Ryan said Zane's awareness of the hallucinations initially gave him some comfort. 'He was aware of it, which of course worried me, but he was still able to explain what was happening,' Ryan said. 'I thought, OK, maybe it'll pass.' But the clarity didn't last and suddenly Zane decided he simply wanted to stop. 'He's not a quitter. That's not him,' Ryan said. 'But then he just stopped. He said he didn't want to go on. It got worse - more frequent. He truly believed none of it was real.' Despite briefly seeming to recover, Zane's mental state suddenly deteriorated, culminating in a series of alarming statements before he wandered off the trail and plummeted over the side of the steep granite cliff. 'It was in the direction of the ledge. He thought it was right there, like the hike was over. 'I wiped my eyes for a second, and when I looked up, he was already 10 feet away. I reached out - but I couldn't get to him. And then he was gone.' The fall left Zane with a traumatic brain injury and happened as the pair had begun their descent via the Mount Whitney Trail, hours after completing the technically demanding Mountaineer's Route. The teen, who is nearly 5'9' and in peak physical condition having competed in triathlons, swimming, and distance running. As his father put it: 'He's in better shape than I am.' After the fall, Ryan scrambled down the jagged terrain to reach Zane's body, convinced his son had died on impact. 'I didn't see how there would be a way for him to survive it, so I screamed,' he said. 'I was yelling 'No!' I thought he was gone.' But when he reached Zane's body, miraculously there were still signs of life. 'I rolled him over and he grunted. He was still breathing.' An EMT who had passed by the pair earlier rushed to help, coordinating a rescue operation while Ryan remained with his unconscious son for a further six hours until a rescue helicopter arrived. The helicopter was seen as it made its approach to rescue the injured teen Zane was flown first to Southern Inyo Hospital in Lone Pine and then on to Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, the closest facility with a pediatric trauma unit. Miraculously, doctors say his only other injuries were a broken ankle, a fractured finger, and a fractured section of his pelvis. 'Doctors said it's miraculous,' Ryan said. 'It should have been so much worse.'
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Father Recalls Nightmarish Moment Son Fell Down 120-Foot Ledge While Hallucinating On Hike
The father of a California teen who remains hospitalized from injuries sustained in a 120-foot fall off a mountain ledge is sharing some harrowing details about his son's near-fatal experience. Zane Wach, 14, has been in a medically induced coma since being rescued from California's Mount Whitney where he and his father, Ryan Wach, had been hiking June 10. In an interview with SF Gate published last week, Ryan Wach said Zane Wach ― a regular distance runner who competes in triathlons and has had a lot of past hiking experience ― was exhibiting symptoms of altitude sickness and had begun speaking erratically. 'He started to experience some hallucinations,' Ryan Wach recalled, noting that the two were partway through their descent down the mountain. 'He knew he was hallucinating. He said he saw things like snowmen and Kermit the Frog.' Watch a News 3 Las Vegas interview with Ryan Wach below. He went on to note: 'He was in an altered mental state, and I don't know what caused it. We still don't know. My best guess is a combination of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, probably some dehydration and lasting effects from the altitude sickness. But he essentially started to doubt reality.' In a separate interview with NBC affiliate News 3 Las Vegas, Ryan Wach said Zane Wach 'believed that we had finished the hike multiple times already in his mind, like he was not present any longer,' adding: 'I heard steps to my right, and he was walking off the ledge.' Immediately after Zane Wach's fall, Ryan Wach ran to the spot where his son had landed while a nearby hiker began coordinating rescue efforts. It took about six hours in total for rescue teams to arrive, after which Zane Wach was transported to California's Southern Inyo Hospital and, later, to Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas. Though the teen sustained head trauma, he was spared any major bodily injuries in the fall save for a broken ankle, a broken finger and a partially broken pelvis. Zane Wach had his ventilators removed and resumed breathing on his own last week. Though the Wach family remains hopeful for a full recovery, Ryan Wach told SF Gate: 'It's going to be a survival story in the end, but right now we're still in the middle of it.' Man Arrested 10 Months After Mom Of 5 Killed Along Popular Hiking Trail Former College Ski Racing Champion Dead At 26 We Never Felt Welcomed On The Trails. But That's All About To Change.
News.com.au
30-06-2025
- News.com.au
Aussie YouTuber Spanian ‘almost dies' on Mount Everest
Popular Australian YouTuber Anthony Lees – better known as Spanian – has revealed he came terrifyingly close to death during a recent trip to Mount Everest. The former Sydney gangster-turned-internet sensation, known for his food and travel vlogs and no-nonsense storytelling, was rescued by an emergency helicopter after falling ill while attempting to explore the mountain range. The 38-year-old told viewers of hit most recent travel vlog that he'd flown to the Himalayas on a whim – and quickly learned that the world's highest mountain doesn't take kindly to shortcuts. 'I just wanted to see what it was all about,' he said in a clip documenting the experience. 'So I booked a private chopper to take me to the top. No trek, no camp and no acclimatising.' Mount Everest, which stands at a staggering 8849 metres above sea level, straddles the Nepal-Tibet border and attracts thousands of ambitious climbers every year. While summating the peak takes months of intense training and planning, even visiting base camp – located at 5346 metres – can be dangerous without proper acclimation. Altitude sickness can occur as low as 2500 metres, with symptoms ranging from headaches and nausea to potentially fatal complications. Most travellers will spend several days – if not weeks – gradually ascending to allow their bodies to adapt. But Spanian skipped all of that entirely. Instead, chartering a helicopter straight to 3000 metres to check into the Everest View Hotel, one of the highest-altitude hotels in the world – all while wearing a pair of shorts and Adidas joggers. After arriving, things quickly took a sharp turn. 'I feel light-headed,' he said immediately after exiting the helicopter. Within the hour, the YouTuber said he couldn't get out of bed, was struggling to breathe and felt freezing cold. 'It's getting way worse. I can't breathe properly, my head hurts and I'm freezing,' he said. 'I tried to send a voice note to one of my staff and I got a little bit scared, I had a panic attack.' At one point, he attempted to walk a nearby trail to a town but was forced to sit down only minutes into the journey. 'I'm weak and unstable, I could die,' he told viewers. Back at the hotel, staff measured his oxygen saturation level, where it came back at a worryingly low level of 83 per cent. Safe levels typically range between 95 and 100 per cent. 'I want to go down the mountain right now, I need to get out of here, I almost passed out,' he said. An emergency helicopter was then called to evacuate him down to 2,500 metres, where his symptoms began to ease. 'I'm actually really upset now, I was going into some sort of collapse,' he said after arriving back at his hotel in Kathmandu. Viewers were quick to voice their frustration with the experience, branding it complete 'ignorance.' 'This was frustrating to watch. The collective ignorance of Spanian and his management and the complete lack of responsibility by the tour company was mind-blowing,' said one. '83 per cent blood oxygen level would warrant an admission into the emergency department in normal circumstances,' noted another. 'This is not something you can just decide to do, let alone by yourself. Takes a lot of preparation, training and practice,' wrote a third. 'Your team needs a serious talking to. This was a huge blunder with a potentially critical ending,' agreed a fourth. The death toll for Mount Everest is higher than any mountain with at least 322 deaths since 1922.
The Sun
27-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Dad reveals hallucinating son's disturbing final words before he walked off 120ft cliff as boy saw ‘snowmen & Kermit'
A DAD has revealed the disturbing final words his son said to him before walking off a 120-foot cliff during a mountain hike. Zane Wach, 14, was on his way back after summiting California's Mount Whitney with his dad Ryan when he began saying alarming things. 6 6 6 Mr Ryan revealed that his son started to feel the effects of altitude sickness and started hallucinating. He added that Zane, who now remains in a coma, said he "couldn't tell if he was dreaming or not" and said he could see "snowmen" and "Kermit the frog". It all began on June 10 when the father-son duo reached the 14,505-foot peak of California's Mount Whitney - the tallest in the continental US. But as they both began descending, Zane started feeling sick and began saying alarming things before walking off the cliff. Dad Ryan told SFGate: "[Zane] started to experience some hallucinations. "He said there was a snowman down there, and that he could see Kermit the Frog near a green lake in the distance." As Zane's mental state got worse, he could not distinguish between dream and reality, the dad said. Mr Ryan added: "I've never seen anything like it. "He wasn't making sudden movements, but it was like he was sleepwalking. I didn't trust what he might do. "He told me he couldn't tell if he was dreaming. At least 1 hiker killed & 3 injured in horror rockslide at Banff National Park in Canada "He'd shake his head and say, 'This isn't real... I don't think this is really happening.' "Like he was stuck in the movie Inception." Zane then wandered off the trail and plummeted over the side of the steep granite cliff. And the tragic fall left Zane with a traumatic brain injury. Mr Ryan said he could not stop his son from walking off the cliff as he was out of his reach. He said: "It was in the direction of the ledge. He thought it was right there, like the hike was over. "I wiped my eyes for a second, and when I looked up, he was already 10 feet away. "I reached out - but I couldn't get to him. And then he was gone." 6 What is altitude sickness Altitude sickness, also known as mountain sickness, is an illness that can affect individuals who travel to high elevations too quickly. It is caused by the lower oxygen levels and reduced air pressure at high altitudes, which the body has not had time to adjust to. The symptoms of altitude sickness can range from mild to severe and often resemble a hangover. Common initial symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, shortness of breath, and difficulty sleeping. T These symptoms typically appear within a day of being at a high altitude. Doctors suspect that aside from altitude sickness, Zane was also suffering from a dangerous combination of dehydration and sleep deprivation, DailyMail reports. Even during the summit, Zane said, claiming they had already finished the hike "multiple times" and appeared unable to distinguish dreams from reality. Dad Ryan said: "He was aware of it, which of course worried me, but he was still able to explain what was happening, "I thought it'll pass." He revealed that his 5'9' son was in peak physical condition before the summit - and had no history of mental health issues. After the tragic fall, Ryan rushed to the bottom of the cliff, fearing his son may have died from the impact. He said: "I didn't see how there would be a way for him to survive it. I thought he was gone." But the dad felt relieved when he realised his son showed signs of life. An emergency helicopter was scrambled and Zane was rushed to the hospital, where he now remains in medical-induced coma. Doctors say his only other injuries were a broken ankle, a fractured finger, and a fractured section of his pelvis. Ryan said: "It is a miracle, it could have been so much worse." The dad launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of Zane's medical expenses. He has so far raised $21,000. He added: "He's improving, but he still has a long way to go. "This is a survival story and not a tragedy."
