Scotts Valley High School science teacher Naomi Lyall was severely injured in a snowboarding accident in Lake Tahoe on Saturday, Jan. 25.
Lyall was on a church youth group retreat through Scotts Valley’s Gateway Bible Church when, according to a detailed post by a relative on the website CaringBridge.org, she fell while snowboarding at Homewood Mountain in the Tahoe area.
A student, according to the post, saw her snowboard go up in the air and found Lyall moaning and unresponsive on the ground. Ski patrol arrived quickly and Lyall was airlifted to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nev. A neurosurgeon found no major bleeding or swelling on her brain during an initial CT scan, but she remained unconscious.
According to a post on Monday, Lyall was responsive to words and touch, and able to move her fingers. She began to speak short sentences on Tuesday and Wednesday but remains in the hospital as of Press-Banner press time.
Friends have asked for prayer for Lyall as she recovers.
Lyall, a chemistry and physics teacher, has taught at Scotts Valley High School for more than a decade and is extremely involved in campus activities, said Principal Valerie Bariteau.
She was named the SVHS teacher of the year in 2005 and serves as the advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Club, the Rock Climbing Club and Young Republicans Club, according to her staff biography.
“Staff and students are very worried about her,” Bariteau said Monday afternoon. “Our thoughts and prayers are going out to her family.”
Bariteau said Lyall is a very physically active person and enjoys snowboarding, mountain climbing and biking. She attended Biola University, San Diego State University and California State University, Fullerton. She currently lives in Scotts Valley.
“She is well-loved and respected and everyone is thinking about her and wants her back,” Bariteau said.
For more information: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayforna
