Island girl and lifesaver take the pitcher’s mound at Mariners game

Lily James, 9, a fourth-grader at West Mercer Elementary School and her friend, Bellevue paramedic Phil Pierson, together threw out the first pitch at the Wednesday night Mariners game against the Yankees.

By Reporter Staff • September 15, 2011 3:03 pm
Bellevue Fire Department paramedic Phil Pierson
Bellevue Fire Department paramedic Phil Pierson

Lily James, 9, a fourth-grader at West Mercer Elementary School and her friend, Bellevue paramedic Phil Pierson, together threw out the first pitch at the Wednesday night Mariners game against the Yankees.

James was injured in a water skiing accident two years ago when her foot got caught in a ski rope and was nearly severed. Bellevue paramedic Phil Pierson was key in saving James and her foot immediately after the accident, which occurred in Lake Washington near the Beach Club on July 28, 2009.

She later spent 10 hours in emergency surgery at Harborview Medical Center to get it reattached. Two of the surgeons who worked to save her foot were doctors Nick Vedder and Bob Dunbar, both of Mercer Island.