Whatif...

A 40-foot fall

It was nearIng sundown In Marble Falls, a familiar retreat for texas campers. Cameron alspaw and his buddies, all high school juniors, were buzzing after a day of scaling giant rocks. they were feeling superior, Cameron says. “we were the senior scouts on the trip. we were thinking we were invincible. I had already climbed this 40-foot cliff once without the proper safety equipment. we were really just being ridiculous.” the 2008 Lake Highlands High school grad has a self-deprecating wit that makes him say things like that. It's not such a big deal, he will also tell you, before launching into the dramatic and bloody story of his treacherous fall. at the end of the day, the trip chaperones asked the older boys to bring in the rappelling ropes. “we had them convinced we were responsible and safe, I guess.” Cameron says. at once, a crowd gathered. one of the scout chaperones was a doctor. Medics arrived and loaded Cameron onto a Caterpillar, an ergonomic type of stretcher made for maneuvering trauma cases out of tight spots. “they Caterpillared me out of the canyon and onto a helicopter.

Cameron reached the top first. “oh, I felt like I was just so awesome,” he recalls with a chuckle. then his hand slipped and he toppled backward. Falling fast. a rock to the head. a scream (his own or one of the guys’ he wasn’t sure). More blows to shoulder, head, face, as he hit ledges that slowed his speed and possibly saved his life. the world went black.

Fellow scout travis Barker was at the base of the mountain tossing the football when Cameron fell. “I heard some noise, looked up, and saw Cameron falling. It seemed like he fell forever. when I got to him, he was pretty busted up. I didn't know if he was alive. But then he kind of sat up. He was pretty out of it though."

Cameron had plummeted some 40 feet. “I woke up with blood everywhere, not knowing what had happened,” Cameron says. "I was in and out of consciousness, convulsing ..."