Date: 22nd February 2011
I have returned home to nice warm weather and sunshine, but unfortunately it turns out I have managed to rupture at least 2 ligaments in my ankle. Imaging (ultrasound, x-ray and MRI) have shown that the anterior inferior tibio fibular ligament is ruptured and they suspect the posterior ligament has as well. Thus my tibia and fibular are currently not attached together.
They also suspect I have torn another ligament in there as well and potentially pulled a small piece of bone off. Therefore, on the 25th February I will be admitted to hospital for an ankle reconstruction. I am hoping they don't have to screw the bones back together, but the full damage won't be known until they get in there. Hopefully it will be quite simple and all heal up nice and quickly. I will keep you posted on my progress.
21st at World Champs and beyond!
Date: 12th February 2011
Unfortunately I made a mistake in my quali, and had a slow time. But they took all ladies for finals as the field was much smaller than normal, and I got a chance to race SX! I had a tough heat with Fanny Smith and Jenny Owens, and on final day, once again the leg really only held up for one training run. Then in the heat, I had a pretty good start, held a good line and managed to make a pass on Jenny, stoked with the result I then followed behind Fanny rather than taking a strategic line and was passed once again by Jenny further down the course. It was nice to make a pass and feel the first spark I have felt from the sport in the last 12 months! So I finished up at the World Championships in 21st place. Not a bad result for ultimately trying to ski on one leg.
I decided to continue on my itinerary and see how I felt in Blue Mountain at the next WC. I knew I was heading home after it, so I thought I would see how I felt. In the training in Blue, I felt like I was skiing at about 60%. After trying to compensate by using my left "good" leg, I now had a lot of pain in that leg too. My head was saying go, but my body was saying no! So I decided not to start the event, as I wasn't going to qualify skiing like this, and I was sitting back, so I was scared I may end up injuring myself worse. It is never an easy decision not to start a comp, when you have travelled so far to get there. But this is ski cross! So now I am waiting at LAX airport for my flight home for some much needed rest! I will write again soon. All the best!
The World Championships were held in Deer Valley/Park City, Utah, USA. I have to admit, the World Champs didn't really feel like World Champs. It was my 3rd World Championships, and I have to say, I think it had the least atmosphere. I was in quite a lot of pain and was only capable of doing 1 training run on both days. I have a HUGE thank you so say to a few people:
1. Mer Bennett - my buddy and fan from Tahoe who travelled all the way from Reno by herself to come and support me and cheer me on! It was so awesome!
2. Andy Dennis and Ed Holmes, who came all the way from Melbourne, AUS to come and support and help me out!
The support was really appreciated. It was awesome to see Amalie and Oli come up and support me as well! He is always a good attendee :)
Unfortunately I made a mistake in my quali, and had a slow time. But they took all ladies for finals as the field was much smaller than normal, and I got a chance to race SX! I had a tough heat with Fanny Smith and Jenny Owens, and on final day, once again the leg really only held up for one training run. Then in the heat, I had a pretty good start, held a good line and managed to make a pass on Jenny, stoked with the result I then followed behind Fanny rather than taking a strategic line and was passed once again by Jenny further down the course. It was nice to make a pass and feel the first spark I have felt from the sport in the last 12 months! So I finished up at the World Championships in 21st place. Not a bad result for ultimately trying to ski on one leg. I decided to continue on my itinerary and see how I felt in Blue Mountain at the next WC. I knew I was heading home after it, so I thought I would see how I felt. In the training in Blue, I felt like I was skiing at about 60%. After trying to compensate by using my left "good" leg, I now had a lot of pain in that leg too. My head was saying go, but my body was saying no! So I decided not to start the event, as I wasn't going to qualify skiing like this, and I was sitting back, so I was scared I may end up injuring myself worse. It is never an easy decision not to start a comp, when you have travelled so far to get there. But this is ski cross! So now I am waiting at LAX airport for my flight home for some much needed rest! I will write again soon. All the best! Alpe D'Huez and 17 new stitches in my face!
Date: 30th January 2011
It has been a long time since I wrote. I feel like I have not stopped in weeks. I had an accident in Alpe D'Huez at the World Cup on the 11th January. I caught my ski edge coming into the final jump in qualification and found myself doing my first rodeo flip, which I certainly didn't land. Rather, crumpled in a heap on the flat. I had a pretty good black eye, a really swollen cheek, and 17 new stitches in my face, but to be honest, this looked pretty savage, but didn't hurt that much. Unfortunately I smashed my right knee up and strecthed the ligaments in my ankle...these both hurt a lot!
It has been a long time since I wrote. I feel like I have not stopped in weeks. I had an accident in Alpe D'Huez at the World Cup on the 11th January. I caught my ski edge coming into the final jump in qualification and found myself doing my first rodeo flip, which I certainly didn't land. Rather, crumpled in a heap on the flat. I had a pretty good black eye, a really swollen cheek, and 17 new stitches in my face, but to be honest, this looked pretty savage, but didn't hurt that much. Unfortunately I smashed my right knee up and strecthed the ligaments in my ankle...these both hurt a lot!
I took a week off and was hoping it would all clear up and I could get back on skis. Huge thank you to Sarah Verlaan for having me to stay for so long in Zurich! My leg wasn't get any better and something certainly didn't feel right, although i did have stability in the knee. So I decided to go to a sports doctor in Zurich and get a professional opinion, so I don't go and make something small into something big. The doctor suspected torn meniscus and stretched ligaments and sent me off for an MRI. After 12 days off, finally I got the results back and I was fortunate enough to escape with only "extensive bone bruising" and the stretched ankle ligament. So off I trotted to Grasgehren Germany on my own to get back into SX!
I arrived in Germany totally alone. No Team mates, no coach, no support. I strapped up my ankle to the best of my ability and I stood in the starting gate honestly, scared stiff! My arms were shaking, legs, and all I could think was...please don't hit the back side of that large double! Infact I don't recall being that frightened in the last 2 years. I basically would land a jump then try to ski on one leg, I went there with only one aim, and that was to forget the crash and go to World Championships with a fresh head, even if he body wasn't fresh. So I successfully completed the competition, a huge thanks to the Swiss team for letting me use their tuning bench, I was slowand in pain, but the good news was I was off to World Champs no longer thinking about my crash in France.
Next stop, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA!
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