CAPE GEORGE — Jefferson County Commissioner David Sullivan returned home Saturday after nearly two weeks at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center, recovering from injuries and back surgery.
“I’m really glad to be home,” Sullivan said, returning to near where he fell over a bluff near 40 feet while trying to pull Scotch broom from the hillside.
He will be in a “turtle brace” for his back injuries — a crushed L1 vertebrae — for up to three months, Sullivan said.
He also will wear a leg cast for about a month.
Sullivan, D-Cape George, is using a wheelchair and walker to get around the house.
“All the support I’ve received has been touching. The thank yous go all the way back to the rescuers,” he said.
Sullivan’s wife, Connie Ross, said Friday night that she had just returned home to Cape George for the first time since her husband’s mishap.
Earth gave way
Sullivan, 53, sustained the injuries May 1 in the 40-foot fall when the earth beneath his feet gave way, he recalled.
Using a basket and rope, county fire crews and sheriff’s authorities rescued Sullivan, who came to rest on a ledge after the fall.
He was rushed by sheriff’s boat, then ambulance to Jefferson Healthcare hospital in Port Townsend, and later was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
About a week later, he underwent surgery to remove a bone fragment from his lower lumbar vertebra, and received a bone graft in its place. He is also recovering from a broken right ankle.