Heather Friesen, a Western Kentucky volleyball alum and University of Hawaii beach volleyball alum, was enjoying a hike on the Ka’au Crater Trail in Hawaii when she stopped to admire a waterfall. Friesen had a GoPro camera strapped to her head to capture the scenery, but it showed much more.
As Friesen looked over the waterfall, she slipped and fell, tumbling 50-foot down the cliff and into the water. Friesen can be heard screaming as she falls down the cliff before splashing into the water and submerging temporarily. Before someone comes to assist her, Friesen is heard moaning as she deals with the impact of the horrific fall.
In the frightening accident, Frisen suffered 10 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a fractured scapula. Luckily, the 26-year-old was able to escape death.
The incident occurred in 2016.
You can check out the video of the accident below.
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In an Instagram post that came one year after the accident, Friesen recalled the incident which she describes as both the worst and the best day of her life.
“How could this possibly be the best day of my life? Because I was shown God’s love in incredible ways that forever transformed me,” she wrote. “He saved me from death and has renewed my mind to see a world where God is my number one, and absolutely nothing comes before Him.
“When everything that I put my identity in was taken away from me in an instant, all I had left was God. I turned to Him in amazing ways and would be writing a never-ending post if I shared all the countless ways He has changed my life in the past year. So, I thank God for this accident. Each and every day. Because without it, I wouldn’t know His love in such an encompassing and undeniable way.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRCQXPagqKS/
Friesen also discussed the fall during an appearance on the “In the World of Female Sports.”
