The Higgins family is spending Christmas at a Colorado hospital rather than being on a ski vacation, but the Texans are just thankful to be alive.
Days after being rescued from their snow-covered SUV in New Mexico, the only family member still in the hospital is Yvonne Higgins, who is expected to fully recover from the pneumonia she caught while struggling to stay alive in frigid conditions for nearly two days, her husband, David Higgins, told the Houston Chronicle.
David Higgins was released from a New Mexico hospital on Thursday after being diagnosed with pneumonia. The couple’s 5-year-old daughter, Hannah, was given a clean bill of health hours after the family was rescued about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday. Yvonne Higgins was transferred to a hospital in Pueblo.
The family left Texas last Monday for a vacation in New Mexico. Within hours, they got stuck in a blizzard on U.S. 412, just west of the Texas border. Their vehicle became buried under 4 feet of snow.
The Higginses had spotty cellphone coverage, which allowed them to give responders enough clues to find their general location. Using probes, the rescuers began searching in a snowbank and after a few tries, hit the car.
“We were pretty much out of oxygen,” David Higgins said.
