ARVADA, Colo. — A woman who fell 11 stories from a Denver high-rise and lived to tell about it will have a chance to thank those who helped save her life on Tuesday.
Taylor Theriault, 26, came to the Curtis Hotel at 14th and Curtis streets for a party in mid-December when she fell from the 15th floor.
“It was Dec. 17, I fell from the 15th story. But there was a balcony I fell on. I fell on a vent,” Theriault said.
That vent was 11 stories below — or 100 feet. Statistics say the median height someone fall resulting in death is about 49 feet.
“I lost a lot of memory. And I don’t remember the accident. I don’t remember December. I don’t remember November,” Theriault said.
But she does remember the pain. She was in a coma for a week. And then, bed-ridden for four months.
“I broke almost my full body. I broke 26 bones. I broke both cheekbones, my nose,” Theriault said.
Theriault also broke all of her ribs; shattered her pelvis; broke her arm, leg and foot; and had brain surgery. She said her body is now full of metal rods and screws.
“I can walk. They told me I wasn’t going to be able to walk. They were not sure if I even would live,” she said.
She said it’s still hard for her to walk. She can only be on her feet for two hours. But it is a struggle she accepts with a grateful heart.
“It’s a miracle. The doctor told me in June I am the only person in the world to fall 100 feet and live. I said, ‘Are you serious? That’s amazing,’” she said.
But even more amazing, she said, are the first-responders who saved her life that day.
“These guys deserve the world. I owe them my life,” Theriault said.
A happy life she she’s not sure why she’s lucky enough to keep living.
“I feel like maybe I didn’t die so I can help others go through struggle. I live and die through the saying: ‘The harder the struggle, the bigger the triumph.’ I want people to live by that. So it’s just a bad day and it will go on,” she said.
Her great attitude is obvious in her goal to thank all the firefighters, paramedics, police officers and doctors who helped her that evening.
She will do that at a luncheon at a Denver fire station on Tuesday.
Also, the Denver Fire Fighters Burn Foundation will donate funds to assist Theriault with ongoing medical treatment.