The Park City community is rallying to support the family of a young competitive skier who was critically injured during a competition.
Mikayla Willis, who lives in Park Heights with her mother Laura, was competing in a qualifying event for the Freeride World Tour in Big Sky, Montana, when she crashed during the finals run on Wednesday. The day before, she took first place in the competition.
Willis sustained severe injuries including a shattered skull, broken nose, broken back, fractured hips and lacerations to her face. She was transported via helicopter to a hospital in Bozeman, according to the family’s neighbor John Greenfield, and was later taken to a different facility in Billings.
A coworker of Laura Willis, Dena Eytan, set up a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Willis’ medical expenses as the hospital she is at is “out of network” under the family’s insurance policy, according to the campaign description. Willis has already undergone one surgery and is expected to be in the intensive care unit for several weeks. The page was updated on Thursday to say that Willis was conscious, talking and taken off of life support.
More than 550 people had donated over $86,000 to help cover Willis’ medical expenses as of Friday morning — surpassing the fundraiser’s initial goal of $75,000. Eytan increased the goal to $150,000 on Friday as the family is unsure how long Willis will be in the hospital for or what her treatment will consist of.
Greenfield said he was surprised by how quickly donations came in for the family and that he’s proud of the community for taking care of one of their own.
“This is a child of Park City,” he said. “I am heartbroken for the family, and I think this is a big fear we all have as parents in a ski community.”
Willis grew up skiing in the Wasatch Range and attended the Winter Sports School — where she graduated in 2021 — to focus on becoming a professional athlete, according to Greenfield. His family moved into the neighborhood around the same time the Willis family did in November 2019.
The two families developed a close relationship when they started staying home more when the coronavirus pandemic began. Greenfield said that Willis would often babysit his children and described her as someone who is friendly and enjoys being active.
He said that Willis always seemed happy putting in the work to develop her skills and compete at a higher level, despite previous injuries that may have set her back. Willis is currently ranked 32nd in the Americas Region of the Freeride World Tour Qualifiers. The Big Sky event was the second of three competitions that make up the Freeride World Tour Finals.
“She’s a real badass,” he said. “It’s a surreal moment. It helps bring things into focus.”
Greenfield said friends and neighbors have been doing what they can to help the family, and he’s humbled to be a part of the support. He has been staying in touch with Laura Willis to help see what her family needs and provide the community updates.
More information about the GoFundMe can be found at https://bit.ly/3IF3IZg.