Lake Powell accident leads to 11 surgeries and uncertain recovery for 14-year-old Utah girl

SALT LAKE CITY — What began as the final evening of a family vacation at Lake Powell turned into weeks in the hospital, 11 surgeries and an uncertain recovery for 14-year-old Grey Clissold.

Her father James Clissold said Grey was injured June 12 while using a makeshift slip-and-slide near a neighboring houseboat. Another girl came down immediately behind her and landed on Grey’s leg as they reached the bottom.

Clissold said he was returning to camp on a personal watercraft when he saw his daughter floating in the water wearing her life jacket.

“At first, she was saying, ‘My leg hurts,’” he recalled. “Once she sat on the back of the wave runner, I could see that right below her knee was pretty deformed.”

The family transported Grey by boat to the marina before taking her to a hospital in Page, Arizona. An X-ray confirmed that she had broken the upper portion of her tibia near the knee.

Clissold said the family initially believed the injury would require surgery and several weeks of recovery.

“I was talking to her, saying, ‘Your summer is going to suck, but in a couple of months, you’re going to be walking on it again. It’s going to be fine,’” he said.

The family stayed in Page overnight and drove for eight hours back to the Salt Lake City area the following day. After dropping off their other two daughters with relatives, they took Grey to the emergency department at Primary Children’s Hospital.

A much bigger problem

Doctors initially planned to repair the broken bone the following morning, according to Clissold.

However, he said a nurse became concerned early the next morning because Grey could not move or feel her toes.

“She said, ‘I just don’t feel right about this. Something doesn’t feel right,’” Clissold recalled.

The nurse contacted a vascular surgery team at University of Utah Hospital which later performed a contrast-enhanced CT to examine the blood flow in Grey’s leg.

The scan revealed that the artery behind Grey’s knee had been severed when the bone was broken and pushed backward, Clissold said.

8.5 hour surgery

Grey was transferred to University of Utah Hospital for emergency surgery. Surgeons removed a vein from her left leg and used it to bypass the damaged artery in her right leg, according to her father.

The operation lasted approximately eight and a half hours.

Grey also underwent procedures to relieve pressure caused by swelling in her lower leg. Clissold said doctors later explained that severe swelling can restrict circulation and cause permanent tissue damage.

Clissold said the family estimates approximately 38 hours passed between the accident and the emergency vascular surgery.

“What we initially thought would have just been a crappy six to eight weeks and then being healed has now turned into what’s looking like lifelong complications for a 14-year-old girl,” he said.

3 weeks, 10 surgeries later

Grey spent more than three weeks at University of Utah Hospital and later transferred back to Primary Children’s Hospital. Her father said she underwent nine surgeries during her initial stay and has since required additional procedures to close large wounds in her leg.

Grey was briefly allowed to return home, but the family brought her back to the hospital after experiencing problems with a wound vacuum and bleeding from an incision.

Clissold spoke with KSL NewsRadio from outside Grey’s hospital room as the family prepared for her 11th surgery.

Although Grey has faced difficult days, her father said she continues to surprise the people around her.

“She’s incredibly tough,” he said. “There are down moments where she just starts crying and says, ‘I just want to go home. Why did this even happen?’ But she’s resilient and tougher than anybody I know.”

Grey currently has little to no movement or sensation from her ankle into her foot, Clissold said. Doctors and the family are still waiting to see how much function may return as she continues healing.

One step at a time

Clissold said the possibility of additional complications remains, but the family is trying to focus on each stage of Grey’s recovery rather than the full uncertainty ahead.

“We’ve already had a couple of miracles because she’s still with us,” he said. “And right now, she still has her leg.”

The family continues to have questions about how Grey’s vascular injury was initially evaluated and when it should have been detected. 

For now he said their priority is helping Grey recover and sharing their experience so other parents feel empowered to ask questions when something does not seem right.

Clissold also expressed gratitude for the hundreds of people who have sent messages, followed Grey’s recovery and contributed financially.

“The support is overwhelming,” he said. “There are so many people behind us.”

A family member created a fundraiser to assist with Grey’s medical care, rehabilitation and other potential long-term needs.

Learn more about Grey’s recovery, or support the family, through their GoFundMe campaign.

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