A year ago 9-year-old Genny Shepler fell 30 to 35 feet next to the steep, rocky cataract in Mill Creek Canyon, sustained a skull fracture and went into a coma.
On Tuesday, Genny and her family, residents of Forest Falls, ascended to the place some local rescuers call Blood Rock to celebrate her recovery, to give thanks, and to warn others of the dangers.
"We're just glad that we're able to come back here," said Genny's mom, DeAnne Shepler. "Because there's so many people that aren't able to."
Genny is 10 now and she was clearly glad to be out at the falls on Tuesday. She held her father Kevin's hand tight most of the time, and she stayed close to her brothers Gage, 13, and Tristan, 14, and her sister Hanna, 14.
"We came up here today to say that nothing's going to hold her back," DeAnne said, raising her voice above the roar of the falls. "But also to say hey you know, not everybody's as lucky."
The pastor at Genny's church, Thom Wellman, was the first trained rescuer to reach her the day she fell, DeAnne said. Wellman, a retired San Bernardino County Fire division chief, is a paid-call firefighter who lives near the falls.
"He was the first responder, the first trained person to reach her," DeAnne said. "One of the first times she came back to church, he pulled Kevin aside and said 'I've been a firefighter for a long time and done a lot of rescues up there. When we got to her she was gone. She had the gray matter leaking out of her ear. She was posturing. Her eyes were rolling back in her head.'
"He said, 'You know, people don't come back from that.' And now every Sunday I see her and she's sitting out in my pew and she's got those bright eyes and this big huge smile and I know I'm looking at a miracle."
Genny has spent the past year in recovery, her mom said.
"What people think about coming out of a coma, it's not like you wake up, and everything's all honky-dory," DeAnne said. "You're creeping out of a coma. Nobody just ever wakes up and is back to themselves. It doesn't happen that way.
"Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and she's just now finishing up. She had to learn how to talk and walk and eat, everything all over again, so for her to come up here, this short a time, it's an absolute feat."
In addition to Pastor Thom, DeAnne said she and her family are grateful for the other search-and-rescue and fire department personnel who live and work in Forest Falls.
"There's so many people to thank," DeAnne said. "One of them is John Schafer. He's a captain in Rialto. He lives up here, carries a pager for calls up here. He heard the call when Genny fell. He stayed with her and flew out on the helicopter with her. He was waiting for us when we got to the emergency room.
"So there's quite a few. The search and rescue and the fire department up here, they're just amazing. To have to come up here and get people as often as they do, I have a lot of respect for them. . . .
"We don't want to see anybody else fall," DeAnne said. "There's been so many this year. We're just really lucky and she's just absolutely an amazing kid. We can't wait to see what she does in the future."
For previous Patch coverage of Genny's survival and recent rescues at the falls click the following links:
Forest Falls Girl Who Fell 30-35 Feet is Recovering, Mother Asks for Prayers
Prayers Answered: Girl Was Comatose, Now Awake, Smiling, Starting to Walk
Girl Who Survived Coma Gets Visit From LA Kings' Stanley Cup
Dangerous Beauty: Three More Injured at Falls in Mill Creek Canyon
Girl Injured at Falls, Rescued by Firefighters, Medics, Helicopter Crew
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