Texas State Student Takes Dangerous Plunge

By: Jilianne Scamperle

Canyon Lake, TX – An 18-year-old girl has woken up from a medically induced coma after
losing her footing on a run, and falling 34ft into Canyon Lake on Thursday.

Maggie Douglas, a freshman at Texas State University, was running along the cliffside trail
when she slipped and fell into the water. She is feeling thankful after a local fisherman who saw
her fall from the cliff quickly called 9-1-1. EMS arrived and she was taken to the hospital, where
doctors put Douglas in a coma to reduce the swelling in her brain. Douglas often runs the trail
and has never had problems with the path.

“I love running along the water and do it every chance I get…I’ve been running a lot lately
because I’m training for a marathon and Canyon Lake is such a beautiful place to train.” –
Maggie Douglas

Blaine Holland, the lead surgeon at Santa Rosa Hospital, was shocked but happy that she woke
up from the coma with no permanent damage apparent. He has seen a lot of fall victims, but
Douglas’ injuries and head trauma troubled him.

“I have treated individuals who have fallen before, but I can not recall seeing anyone as lucky as
this young women” – Dr. Blaine Holland, Surgeon.

Randy Dais, the fisherman who aided in saving Douglas’ life by calling 9-1-1, said that the water
was extremely rough that day and there were rocks along the cliff, which made rescuing her
difficult. Even EMS had little hope in her survival, said one EMS worker, Tom Henderson.

“When we saw her on the lakeshore, her body looked lifeless…there seemed to be little hope that
anyone could survive such a fall.” – Tom Henderson, EMS.

While the serious fall could have cost Douglas her life, thankfully she is safe due to the quick
acting of a local fisherman, EMS, and surgeons. She may not be able to participate in the
marathon she had hoped, but she is lucky to be alive and thankful she can still continue her
passion of running.