Caving can be dangerous, but I mostly cave with other people who are involved in cave rescue, so I feel pretty safe. My main concern is being aware of when I've squeezed past a portion of the cave that the stretcher won't fit through. Once through, it's important to be careful not to break any legs or backs, because extracting someone with the wrong injury can be impossible. Veterans on the squad like to tell the story of the guy with the broken leg and pelvic fracture who had to pull his way through a choke spot on his own. Yikes.

The situation with my mom was pretty scary. Still a little bit so.