Traumatic Brain Injury 163Lynn was responsible for tracking them. These restaurants and general stores turn big profits dur-
ing the 3 or 4 months of the busy tourist season, and Mary Lynn’s job was to make spot checks to
ensure that tourists were treated fairly. This included unannounced site visits, and it was during
one of them that her airplane crashed.
The Grand Canyon Airport is sizable enough for large passenger jets, but most of the aircraft
taking off and landing are small single- engine planes. Much of the traffic at this tower- controlled
airport involves six- passenger tour airplanes that f ly scenic routes over the canyon. First, the air-
planes f ly west to majestic waterfalls. At the bottom of the canyon is a quaint village that is acces-
sible only by foot, mule, or he li cop ter. Then the tour airplanes bank sharply and turn east, giving
the passengers a clear view of the mile- deep canyon. They crisscross the 12- mile- wide expanse of
the high desert canyon until they reach Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and its 100- mile shore-
line. Then they again turn west, f ly over the northern section of the largest stand of Ponderosa pine
trees in the world, and return to the airport.
Several times in the past, Mary Lynn had taken rushed trips to the Grand Canyon National
Park to spot- check the concessionaires’ compliance. Today she had some extra time and deci ded to
take a scenic tour. The young pi lot greeted them and announced that they would be having a great
adventure, seeing one of the natu ral won ders of the world. He then notified the tower of his intent
to depart, taxied to the end of the runway, again contacted the tower, and received permission to
take off. The airplane began moving down the runway. It gradually accelerated, and soon its three
wheels lifted off the pavement. When it was about 50 feet above the trees, an intense warning siren
and a computer- generated voice from the instrument panel saying “stall, stall, stall” were heard
by the pi lot and passengers. Then came a terrifying loud crash and a dense billow of black smoke
rising above the tress.
Mary Lynn was treated first at the Grand Canyon Hospital and then f lown by he li cop ter to
a regional trauma center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Surgeons stopped the bleeding inside her brain
and evacuated a large hematoma. During the crash, Mary Lynn had also suffered a broken neck,
requiring a tracheotomy and a respirator for breathing. After surgery, she was transferred to the
intensive care unit. Two weeks later, she was moved to the intermediate intensive care unit and
later to a regular hospital room. About 3 weeks after the crash, Mary Lynn began to regain con-
sciousness. She was then transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado specializing in trau-
matic head and neck injuries.
Mary Lynn spent nearly 1 year in the hospital. Her broken neck healed, and she was gradually
weaned from the respirator. Fortunately, her spinal cord had not been completely severed during
the accident, and she gradually regained partial sensation and motor function. Upon discharge
from the hospital, she could walk with assistance for a short distance. With her left hand, she
could control her motorized wheelchair and feed herself using specially designed utensils, plates,
and cups. After many months of therapy, Mary Lynn could produce intelligible speech, although
certain sounds were distorted, particularly those requiring elevation of the tongue. Tube feeding
was discontinued, and eventually she was able to suck, chew, and swallow safely as long as meals
were chopped and blended and liquids were thickened.