Vitaly Tsikoza

I am Olga Filippova and this is a recount of one of the worst days of my life. Me and my family love doing outdoor activities. In September of 2006, my husband had an old friend, Vitaly Tsikoza, visiting from Russia. We decided to take him to the beautiful caverns of Timpanogos Cave National Park. There is a steep trail to get to the caves, but they are beautiful. My husband, Andrey, had to work on this particular day. However, I decided to go to the hike with my children; Nina, nine; Fyodr, seven; and Pauline, three; and Tsikoza. During the hike, little Pauly, the baby of the family, became hungry. I gave her a cardboard can of pretzels. Although I told her to watch her step, she accidentally stepped right off the cliff. I tried to reach for her, but missed. Tsikoza and I climbed down about ten feet to a narrow ledge to try to look for Paulina. I quickly left the ledge where Tsikoza was and went to find help. There came a kind young man named Mickey Horak who came to my rescue. Horak saw the girl and went back up the hill to find a less severe entry point. He came close enough to Pauly so that they could hear each other, but he could not help her. He was able to hold Paulina up and keep himself from falling. At the same time, a ranger named Mac Ellison heard that my little girl was trapped. Ellison found Paulina and told Horak to check her spinal cord. Her spine had not been injured. Horak then lifted Pauly into Ellison’s hand. After she was safe in Ellison’s arms, Horak scrambled to the ledge. They were still about twenty feet below the main trail. For the next thirty minutes, Ellison, Horak, and I all tried to keep Pauly conscious by talking to her. While they were waiting for help, I realized that in my panic, Tsikoza had disappeared. All that Ellison and Horak told me was that the news was bad. Afterwards, the helicopter arrived and Paulina was taken to a nearby hospital. After Pauly was taken by helicopter, Horak, Ellison, and I had to be hoisted up onto the trail. It was only then that I heard that Tsizoka’s body had been found smashed against the rocks. As for Paulina, she suffered a mild concussion and many bruises. Although Tsizoka died trying to save my daughter, I am immensely grateful for his efforts.

In this story, I believe that there are many heroes; however, I have chosen to elaborate on one particular one. Vitaly Tsizoka was a professor from Russia coming to visit the Filippova family. After the youngest daugher, Paulina, fell, it was Tsizoka who had first tried to save her. He took a huge risk in trying to descend the cliff. However, his bravery cost him his life. He died trying to save this three-year-old. Vitaly has taught me that even if someone is a complete stranger to me, I should still be able to be brave if they need help for something. It also has shown me that it is okay to go out of my way to help someone.