The staff at the Whistle Stop pub are “hoping for a miracle” after one of their co-workers sustained a head injury while snowboarding two weeks ago, leaving her in a coma. 

The accident occurred on Nov. 14. It was 23-year-old Brittany Howelko’s first time boarding this season, said Vanessa Hugie, general manager of Whistler’s Inn.

Howelko was coming down one of the runs at Marmot Basin alone when she fell and hit her head. She wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time. Howelko, originally from Manitoba, then boarded the rest of the way down the mountain and ran into a co-worker, whom she joked with, saying she might be a little dopey at work that evening after the fall she had just sustained.

Howelko then went back up the lift and was later found unconscious and vomiting on the mountain.

“Nobody knows how long she was in that condition,” said Hugie. “And she hasn’t woken up since.”

Howelko, who had been living in Jasper for about five months, is now at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, where she was airlifted shortly after being found.

The doctors said that the impact to Howelko’s head caused a blood vessel to burst. The blood then filled her brain cavity, causing her to lose consciousness, said Hugie, who has been in contact with Howelko’s boyfriend and family since the accident.

On Saturday, for the first time in two weeks, Howelko’s family and friends received a glimmer of hope,  when Howelko moved her fingers and squeezed a hand.

Hugie said that small development has everyone “hoping for a miracle.”

“Everybody’s got their fingers crossed, candles lit, you name it,” she said. “If she wakes up, she most likely won’t be the Brittany we knew, but maybe a miracle will happen.”

To show their support to Howelko’s family, Whistler’s Inn is holding a fundraising event Dec. 17, called Helmets for Hope.

Hugie said the event is both to raise money for the Howelko’s medical costs and to raise awareness about the importance of helmets.

“It’s really important to wear a helmet because in a blink of an eye your whole life can change,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are or what skill level.”

As a way of bringing the point home, during the event, which is being held at the Whistle Stop, staff will be taking helmet orders in honour of Howelko.

“We’re trying to get as many people as possible to order helmets,” Hugie said.

Kim Mumby, manager of the Whistle Stop, said the event is meant to be a celebration of Howelko’s life in Jasper.

“All of her friends should be out there to enjoy and celebrate positive memories with her. That’s really what my goal is.”

Mumby said that’s the type of event that Howelko would want.

“She would be all over it if it was anybody else,” Mumby said. “And we want to do it for her and benefit other people at the same time, so that nobody else has to go through this.”