Tolsona Quilters had scheduled their twice yearly retreat for April. But tragedy struck and it almost didn’t happen. The retreat is regularly held at Tolsona Lake Lodge, 10 miles west of Glennallen. There are usually 8-10 quilters. They gather for 5 days of cutting large pieces of fabric into little pieces and then sewing those little pieces back together. Yep, that’s quilting .
In November 2025 the quilters had met and scheduled their next retreat for April 2026. All were committed to returning to enjoy another week together. Suddenly, they weren’t so certain that there would even be a retreat.
In December Carmin Houser, one of the original members of Tolsona Quilters, experienced a near-fatal traffic accident. The fact that she made it to the April retreat is nothing short of a miracle.
Carmin described what happened to the best of her recollection. “I was on my way from my home in Eldon, Missouri, to Jefferson City in my Ford F150 Lariat truck. It had snowed a little bit that morning, but nothing was sticking. I was probably traveling at 60 mph when I crossed a bridge. Black ice. Without warning I felt the back tires break loose and start to swing the truck. Side to side I slid down the bridge, ping ponging off the railings. I tried to correct but I really didn’t have a chance. I was at the mercy of the back end of the truck. Fortunately, no oncoming traffic.
“It happened too fast for me to think. I went into corrective driving mode. I know what they tell you to do. But I only remember the first 10 seconds, the first two impacts. After that I was thrown around and lost consciousness. I didn’t come to until paramedics were holding my bloody head as they began to slide me out on a back board.
“I didn’t have any pain. I didn’t realize how bad I was until I came out of the induced coma 10 days later. The first two hospitals I was taken to all said, ‘No, we are not prepared to handle this injury.’ I finally ended up at the University of Columbia Missouri hospital.
“My back was broken in three places, my collar bone was broken. I had four broken ribs and two gashes on my head. One vertebra was completely crushed.
“Because it was a teaching hospital, every surgical team in the hospital came by to check my charts, follow my progress and the procedures to put me back together.
“When the doctors brought me out of the coma and I found how truly serious my injuries were, they wouldn’t even let me get up. They had no idea how soon I would be ambulatory, what kind of rehab I would have to go through to get back to where I could have a semblance of a typical life.
“People take for granted going to the bathroom, washing your face. I wasn’t allowed to get up for anything for the first 20 days, 10 of which I was in a coma.
“I had to take retirement, and I was not going to be able to travel and go to my retreats like I had planned because I just needed too much assistance.
“However, I had no paralysis whatsoever. None. I found it ironic when they told me that sewing was a great physical therapy activity because I would be using my hands, working my neck because my neck muscles were so tight.
“After being in the hospital for a month and then minimally moving for another month, I had to have help for everything. I was too weak and my muscles were too lax to do anything for myself. I started physical therapy.
“The thought of traveling thousands of miles by myself to get to Alaska, with my suitcases, one that contained my sewing machine… I couldn’t even imagine it.
“It was good knowing that I had a prayer chain going when I realized how serious I was. Friends and family were there for me. I could have been paralyzed from the neck down. C5 is the disk that was destroyed. I could have become paraplegic. Maybe if I were lucky, I would have enough hand control to operate a wheelchair. And then to think that I might never sew again, never make a batch of cookies, so many things went through my mind. The seat belt failed, the air bags didn’t deploy because I didn’t have any direct hits. All the impacts were at the corners of the truck.
“I was quite the case study for the first responders and the medical team. The fire fighters got to practice using their jaws of life, huge hydraulic sheers to cut the truck’s doors away so they could extract me. The hospital got a case book study on spinal surgery and plastic surgery and infectious diseases. I provided entertainment for everybody. Yes, it is a teaching hospital, quite an experience for all of us.
“I wasn’t cleared to travel until the first of March, so I didn’t even think of tickets to Alaska before then. I still had to get home, 60 miles from the hospital. And find all my stuff, and then to the airport 3 hours away in Kansas City. Doctors told me that I could go for it, so I started making plans and let my quilting friends know that I was coming.
“My kids pitched in and relayed me to the airport.
“Alaska Airlines took great care of me. I was met with a wheelchair, and they took care of my suitcases, my carry on. Alaska people in general are so nice. When we landed in Anchorage, the lady sitting across from me stood up and held back the people getting off. Her husband helped me off the plane.
“When I got to the gate my wheelchair wasn’t there, and another Alaskan family grabbed a wheelchair and helped me down to baggage claim. This man had four kids in tow, but he just pushed me along as if I were part of the family. Alaskans are great.
“And there was my friend Doreen to pick me up and drive me to the retreat!”
Doreen Hodges, who lives in Anchorage, learned of Carmin’s accident shortly after it happened. All she could think about was her friend’s recovery. Thoughts of the quilters’ retreat didn’t enter her head until Carmin phoned her in March.
“Are you going to the retreat?” Carmin wanted to know. “Yes,” declared Doreen. “And what about you?” Doreen was amazed at her friend’s answer!
When I learned of the accident I asked myself, “Would I even want to go to the retreat if Carmin isn’t there?” Others felt the same. Because Carmin came, they came.
It was a small but sincere group at the retreat this year. In addition to Carmin and Doreen, Cynthia flew in from Washington state. Susan Smith, who lives in Tolsona during the winter and Judy Shelton who had just arrived from her winter home in Salome, Arizona, joined the three ladies during the day.
They were very attentive to Carmin. Susan sewed together a 4” diameter cloth tube and filled it with rice. After heating the tube in the microwave, she placed it along the back of Carmin’s neck.
“Oh, it felt so good,” said Carmin. “I felt my neck muscles immediately relaxing. That nice warm rice snake made it possible for me to keep sewing without taking so many breaks.”
Reflecting on the experience, Susan said, “I was amazed at her fortitude. Just the strength it took for her to get here. I was tickled that we could find the solution for her neck pain with the little wrap thing. She is a delightful person and committed to our group, sweet spirit, so happy she could make it.”
“Throughout the whole retreat,” said Judy Shelton, “I was really pleased with the compassion and sympathy shown to Carmin because of her accident. She is such a peaceful woman. She dealt with it without a lot of drama, a resilience to overcome what she went through.”
Carmin says, “Each day I can do a little more than I did yesterday. And the rice pack, what a difference it made. My friends holding me in their warmth. It’s just so nice to be here, even though we come from all walks of life and all parts of the country, we’ve been friends for a long time not so much in years but in depth of shared experiences. We keep in touch and think of each other. We always welcome new quilters.“
The next retreat is scheduled for October 14-18 at Tolsona Lake Lodge. Details can be found on the Lodge’s Facebook page.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here