Here We Go!: Well that's NOT how I planned it!!

SPOILER ALERT!! I'M 100% ALIVE , WELL , AND HEALTHY!

Now let me explain to you why that was a spoiler alert!

First let me start off by saying, training in Lake Placid was so much fun. I really felt like I was controlling where the sled went and I got the vibe of driving back a lot faster than the years before.
BUT in this sport things can change in an instant..Before I get to that.. Check out some of the beautiful views from the top of the Lake Placid track

You probably have heard me say.. This sport looks much more dangerous than it really is. I still stand by that point, BUT a small mistake can lead to a bad outcome.

Last week in training you might say I had a particularly bad crash. Some have actually labeled it the worst crash they have seen in the sport. this is my cue to take a BOW!! THANK YOU THANK YOU. Let me replay what happened for you so you can really get the picture!!

FIRST YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO

How the Crash Happened-
I actually had a very good run going and before a big turn I tapped the right wall. When I did so it turned my sled upwards and I skid going in. I remember that and I remember being pissed.. then I remember....NOTHING

ha next thing I knew I was in strapped to a board and in an ambulance. ( I didn't tell my mom this part.. I just told her I bumped my head so I couldn't slide... sorry mom)

What Happened After the crash-
When I skid going into the curve the pressure sent my sled weirdly into the wall and I basically T-Boned the wall head on . When I hit the wall I lost consiouness and flew up in the air and flipped over my sled and landed on my right side. the sled came from behind me and hit me and I continued to slide face down on the ice knocked out "ice cold" ha . I slid for about 100m and I guess the track camera was on me until they realized I was not moving. I was "out" for about 1 minute and when the medic got to me she said I came to and was talking to her, and my coaches told me I was cracking jokes ( I do not remember any of this) They proceeded to backboard me and strap my head and stabilize my neck.
All the athletes in the start house told me it has never been so quiet in the start house. I think everyone thought I had died or broke my neck. They said once my coach came up and said I was talking and wiggling my toes everyone clapped and felt a million times better.

When I finally realized what was going on, I was in some medical room and put into an ambulance. Thinking back though, I do not think I got any sirens in the ambulance. Kinda sad about that... When I got to the ER I was still on the backboard and they would not let me get unstrapped until I had X-rays on my neck and a CT scan on my brain. BUT I HAD TO PEE! so they put a bed pan under me and i freaked out under pressure. I just couldn't pee. It wasn't happening..just too weird!

THE AFTERMATH-
The places on my body that hurt the most were my shoulder and neck. They found just a slight separation in my AC joint and my neck was clear. I got pretty good ice burn on my hands and shoulders , but thats about it.
My shoulder HURT SOOOO bad the first day, but I think it was because it took a lot of the impact. Each day it is better and better. Obviously they diagnosed me with a concussion , BUT i told them I really don't think I have one. My trainers at the OTC said I was the first person they have seen get knocked smooth out and have no signs of a concussion, but even so they would not let me slide in the races last week and I had to take a bunch of tests to get cleared from a concussion to slide. To make a long story even longer they said I was cleared on the 25th to slide in Park City and will be racing on the 28 and 29. I obviously lost the possibility of points from the first 2 races, so I will not be able to make an upper level circuit. It is a bummer, but thats life!

After I got back from the ER! I got some sweet scrubs!

Pretty sure I got knocked out because I hit my face here!

My sweet ice burn! with my swollen hands

Little ice burn but my hands swelled up a lot!

Its hard to tell but my left shoulder was pretty swollen

the bruises started coming out later!

The only time I really got upset about this whole ordeal is when I went to look at my sled. I ended up bending my sled so bad I couldn't fix it, I also bent the runners on my sled, my shoes broke, and a part of my helmet fell off. That is about $6,000 worth of equipment. NOT GOOD! Since I bent my sled I didn't have a sled to use, but the coaches just so happened to have shipped a random 2003 sled to Park City and they said I could use that.(sleds are different from each other, the drive different, different models, and prices, it is kind of like a car) I also had a 2006 pair of runners (that's really old). So I am just throwing together what I have and hoping for the best. I am blessed to even compete in trials, Life throws curve balls and this is definitley one but all I can do is MY best!