Sather, who applied the medical principle correctly — that provided the elements of her rescue.

Jean Hilliard is sometimes described as lucky, and she was.

She was lucky that Wally Nelson opened his door when he did rather than later.

She was lucky that she collapsed on the porch rather than in the field between the car and the house.

She was lucky that her body, by whatever combination of physiological factors, maintained just enough core function to be recoverable.

She was also unlucky: unlucky that the road was icy, unlucky that she misjudged the distance to Wally’s farm, unlucky that she was wearing cowboy boots instead of winter boots for a walk that turned out to be miles long in 22-below weather.