Maui Hiker Amanda Eller Praises Rescuers Who 'Never Gave Up' — Transcript

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1. 0:00a yoga teacher who survived 17 days in
2. 0:03the Hawaiian forest is now back home
3. 0:04recovering with her family the Maryland
4. 0:07native set out for what was supposed to
5. 0:08be a jog instead turned into a fight for
6. 0:11her life
7. 0:11Kelsey Kushner with Amanda Ehlers first
8. 0:13interview about her ordeal every single
9. 0:16step was I choose life that was the only
10. 0:19thing that like kept me going throughout
11. 0:21her 17 days lost in the Hawaiian forest
12. 0:23eller says her journey of survival was
13. 0:26spiritual in a press conference Tuesday
14. 0:28eller says she went into the forest on
15. 0:30May 8th for a run and to meditate
16. 0:32leaving behind her cell phone she says
17. 0:34she got lost when her sense of direction
18. 0:36wasn't leading her back to her car I
19. 0:39took a break i sat down I laid down on a
20. 0:42tree I was looking at the sky and when I
21. 0:43got up and I tried to go back the way
22. 0:45that I came which I had a sense of
23. 0:46direction at that point the path was not
24. 0:49leading me back to my car and I tried
25. 0:51all these different paths and then I was
26. 0:52like oh shoot these are not bike paths
27. 0:54degenerate walking paths easier bore
28. 0:56paths
29. 0:56instead the voice led her deeper into
30. 0:59the woods she said she ate berries and
31. 1:01plants and drank water from the river at
32. 1:03one point eller says she found shelter
33. 1:05inside the den of a wild boar one of her
34. 1:07darkest days was dealing with the flash
35. 1:09flood after falling 20 feet and injuring
36. 1:11her legs eller says she chosen not to be
37. 1:14a victim and I was sitting in a foot of
38. 1:17water on hard rocks that I knew were
39. 1:21digging into my skin but I didn't have
40. 1:22another choice
41. 1:23after more than two weeks suffering in
42. 1:25the woods eller was spotted by a group
43. 1:27of rescuers in a helicopter
44. 1:29she says she immediately collapsed
45. 1:31knowing she was going to survive I'm
46. 1:33seeing these guys like come over me in
47. 1:35the helicopter and I can't tell you my
48. 1:36heart just fell through my feet I mean I
49. 1:39just collapsed
50. 1:40I just like fell to the ground and just
51. 1:42started bawling she says she suffered
52. 1:44from severe sunburn a fractured leg and
53. 1:46skin infections and says her story of
54. 1:48survival defines the meaning of Ohana
55. 1:51act there's not a word for my gratitude
56. 1:53there's not a word for seeing this
57. 1:56inhumanity seeing this drive and this
58. 1:58not willing to give up attitude
59. 2:01like we're going to save you you're
60. 2:02another human being you're in my tribe
61. 2:04we're gonna get you out of here it's
62. 2:05absolutely incredible
63. 2:07now eller still has a long road to
64. 2:09recovery both of her legs are still
65. 2:11bandaged up and she's not able to walk
66. 2:14she did say one message she learned from
67. 2:16this experience as to next time bring
68. 2:18her cell phone
69. 2:19reporting in Baltimore City Kelsey
70. 2:21Kushner for WJZ