PAIA, MAUI (KHON2) – As for Amanda Eller, after a weekend stint, she’s now out of the hospital.
There’s a long road to recovery but Monday was about celebrating her safe return.
In a last minute decision Amanda Eller did decide to speak to everyone who showed up on Monday, thanking the hundreds of people that were able to bring her home alive.
Amanda spoke out briefly about her journey.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Amanda Eller, who was lost in the woods for 17 days. “I didn’t know what. I was getting closer. The only thing I had was trust. I didn’t have a compass, a phone, a shirt.”
She’s incredibly grateful for strangers trying to find her.
“I’m just the girl that got lost in the woods,” said Eller. “You guys like showed up hard. This is like true aloha. I’ve lived here for four years, and never experienced anything. Life. It’s just the community is just showing up with so much frickin’ heart and so much passion. These guys were not gonna give up on me!”
She hopes her story can influence others on what is important in life.
“It’s not material possessions,” Eller explained. “It’s not power. It’s not money. It’s this. It’s relationships. It’s being able to look at each other in the eye, and give each other a hug to a stranger because that’s your family.”
Eller didn’t take any questions Monday but Tuesday will be the press conference with the family where we will learn a little more about her journey.
