In 2012, Brittany Fisher was a Utah State University student, spending her spring break rappelling Cougar Cliffs in St. George. Something went wrong and Fisher plummeted about a hundred feet to the rock below.
“So I ended up falling during the rappel, free falling the second half; and upon impact, pretty shattering," she explained. "The most significant bone was the T-12 burst. So that damaged my spinal cord, leaving me paralyzed, as well as many other broken bones, and a severely burnt hand.”
This past Saturday, Fischer was determined to finish the rappel. She assembled the same Search and Rescue team that helped save her life four years earlier, to assist her in completing the same descent that caused her injuries.
“And really it was more I just needed to finish claiming the experience, finish conquering that. Rather than being defined injury, I feel like I can choose which direction my life is going," she said. "My injury doesn’t define me, I define which direction I’m going to take this and which direction my life is going to go. So by going back I felt like I was really conquering it and closing the door on that cliff. It doesn’t have anything over me anymore.”
Once she reached the ground, Fisher said she’s ready to move forward.
