A 79-year-old grandma got the piggyback ride of her life from a ‘very buff’ savior after breaking her ankle

In a much-needed spot of happy news (you know, given the state of the world), a 79-year-old grandma has recalled being rescued by a group of “angels” after she broke her leg on a hike. 

Perhaps the real headline should be kudos for the grandma, Ursula Bannister, who musters the strength to continue hiking at an older age while I find it difficult to mount a single flight of stairs. In any case, Bannister reflected on the heartwarming tale of companionship in a recent interview, saying she was hiking solo on a three-mile trail that overlooks Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State when her foot got caught in a hole and she fell. Bannister said she “knew right away” that her leg was broken, noting how her “foot was turned all the way to the right.”

While that has the initial makings of a truly harrowing experience à la 127 Hours, it thankfully wasn’t long before a group of fellow hikers responded to Bannister’s calls for help. One man in the group called 911 — who said it would take five hours to locate Bannister — and another tried unsuccessfully to source painkillers as Bannister’s pain grew more “severe.” Then came another woman and two men, who Bannister described as “very buff” and whose  survival suggestion might just have saved Bannister’s life. 

“I said, ‘I’ll piggyback you down,’” Troy May, one of Bannister’s rescuers, told TODAY.com. Working together, the group of strangers then hoisted Bannister onto May’s back, switching his backpack to his chest and securing her legs in the straps. On the hours-long journey down the trail, the group exchanged life stories before finally arriving at Bannister’s car — at which point the group drove her to the nearest hospital. Currently, Bannister is wearing a leg cast for three weeks, after breaking her tibia, fibula and a bone in her heel. That’s one tough grandma!

While the happy ending might be heartwarming enough, there’s added layers to the tale that also tug on the heartstrings. For starters, Bannister was making the hike in honor of her late mother, who loved traversing the majestic peak with her daughter and would pick huckleberries at the bottom of the trail. The summit of the trail is also where Bannister spread her mother’s ashes (there’s just something in my eye, I swear!). On top of all that, May is a U.S. Air Force airman — which in retrospect explains his heroism after spotting an injured Bannister. 

Bannister said she is now bonded with her saviors who were previously strangers, revealing that she has spoken on the phone with May and even gone to lunch with him after the ordeal (if there’s room for three, I’m there). Some of the other helpers sent Bannister get well cards, and as a cherry on top of this feel-good story, May even received an achievement medal from his commander for his role in the rescue. “I am the luckiest person in the world,” Bannister said of her successful rescue mission. “It was amazing that these people came out of the woodwork and all stayed with me. They were truly angels.” 

It has all the makings of a wilderness survival movie (with a happy ending, of course), and if Hollywood ever gets its hands on the rights to the story, best believe I’ll be first in line at the cinemas. Unless that cinema is atop a flight of stairs, then I’ll do a Bannister and have someone piggyback me up.