Back in 2011, I was on vacation in Tennessee and visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park with my husband, three children and my mother and father in law. As we were turnin around to come back down after enjoying Laurel Falls, my mother in law twisted her ankle. She was unable to bear weight on the leg and the rangers in the park were swift in their contact of emergency medical services to get a stretcher up the 1.3 mile trail to bring her back down and help us to get her into our car to retrieve her purse with identification from our cabin to seek medical attention. Between the rangers and the other visitors in the park, we had some pain medication, a make-shift splint on the leg and all the help we needed to get her leg set and protected so she could make it back home to IL to have surgery. We are very thankful for the quick thinking and expertise of the National Park staff in reducing my mother in law’s suffering and getter her the help she needed.
Sincerely,
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the country's most popular national park sites. It offers postcard-perfect views and plentiful wildlife.
State(s): North Carolina Tennessee,
Established: 1926
“I have had many trips to many National Parks and it is my goal to visit all of them. The peace I feel when walking through so many of these protected lands is indescribable at times. I have visited about half the parks so far and think it is of the utmost importance to protect them all for future generations. ”
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