The ski accident

I'm behind on this thing and still haven't recounted the tale of my injury. I seem to have lost my camera which is why it’s taken me so long. I wanted to add the pics.

Brad and I had planned on spending Christmas at our favorite ski resort. We exchanged our few gifts Christmas Eve and left early the next morning for Alyeska. Skiing was perfect. We had 8 inches of fresh powder and visibility was perfect.

So here's what happened.

I was skiing to the left and caught an unexpected edge which caused me to fall forward. My quadriceps were on fire, so I think I may have inadvertently straightened my legs in my attempt to catch my balance. Bad move because the squatting position helps protect the knees. My right ski stuck in the snow, therefore my body was falling forward and my leg and ski stayed straight. I heard two surprisingly loud pops and felt excruciating pain in my right inner knee.

I sat on the trail for a few minutes. It had already started to swell, but the pain had reduced to a dull throb. Then I stood up. I could bear weight ok using my poles. I tried taking a step, and my knee buckled out from under me. I called ski patrol, then enjoyed a lovely sled ride down the mountain.

It's very embarrassing to say that I just fell over, but it's true. I wasn't swerving to avoid hitting somebody and I definitely I wasn't doing any crazy jumps. The trail we were on was quite steep but it was also well groomed so it shouldn't have been a problem. I'm by no means an advanced skier, but I'm also not a novice. I consider myself intermediate, but obviously I'm not sure now, because intermediate skiers don't just fall over. I may get lessons when we move to CO.

I feel like such a dork. I was skiing too fast (trying to keep up with Brad) on slopes that were perhaps beyond my capabilities. By the way, he didn't even know I was hurt!! He just thought I was really slow. He waited at the bottom of the run for like forever. When he finally figured out something was wrong, he had to take the lift back up and ski back down to me. Just in time to help me onto my sled.

My immediate thought was that I tore my ACL. What with the popping, the swelling and the instability. My doc said it could be that or MCL or a meniscal tear. Or any combination of the three. The physical exam didn't tell us much, except that I completely jacked it up (gee thanks I didn’t know that already). They x-rays looked fine but that obviously just means I fracture anything. So I have physical therapy and an MRI scheduled.

So I've spent this last week and a half on my couch. With a brace and crutches. Brad borrowed an ice man machine from the ward and it's become my best friend. Seriously, I've been icing the crap out of it. Myy doc said it was full of blood and if the swelling doesn't subside, he would need to aspirate it. Sorry, no I don't needles. Same reason I don't have any tattoos. They make me want to throw up. Needles. Not tats. I’m getting off topic...

Anywho, the swelling has gone down substantially and overall I'm feeling optimistic. I've been taking a number of lovely medications. I still can't straighten it completely or bend it past a 70 degree angle, but physical therapy will help that.

Also on the bright side, I discovered my man is a nurturer. Not only has been doing all the cooking, cleaning, and catering my every need, he held my hair and rubbed my back when I was retching up my percocet. This is the first time in our marriage that he has had to take care of me like this, and I LOVE it. I may never get better ;)