Trauma Orchid Reporting...

I can't believe its already been year since my ski accident. This Saturday before Christmas 2004- I was having the time of my life on one of my best ski trips ever! Adam finally joined up for the annual Utah trip with my Memphis friends. Here's some pics from the first half of the day-

We were at ParkCity Utah, skiing at The Canyons Resort that day. Awesome place. Its a playground for skiers. Here's Adam and me, having our ideal vacation...


Our ski crew consisted of (L-to-R) Chuck, Dena, MaryDevan, JasonO, Curt, me and Adam. Thanks to Curt we've skied the ParkCity Area 3-4 times. Its the best skiing & setup in my opinion! His family has a great condo in the town, lets us come up whenever its open. I owe Curt some of my best vacations!
My gurrrl MaryDevan getting me ready for the 7 Sisters Run... "can i get a woo-wooh?" Our day consisted of some singing and rappin' throughout the trails, courtesy of MD. Sometimes you can't see her skiing, but you can always hear her...!





At the top, ready to cruise down- Adam, Chuck, and myself. Perfect sunny ski day so far!


I remember the right side of the Canyons, we found an awesome bowl with dips & valleys all over the place. I remember laughing so hard watching Curt & MD make it through, I couldn't even ski myself. Dena too... somehow she trusted us! Check out Ad down the hill inbetween Curt & me, waving Come ON!...

It was a blast the first 1-1/2 days of skiing. The remainder of the trip is a blurry mystery to me. Late afternoon we were all together again, enjoying the last few runs. I had been skiing fast all day, loving the adventure rush. We (or just me) were racing this particular winding run to the bottom... I was relaxed and flying, cutting snow by the treeline, passed up Curt & Jay. Then a faint memory of sliding on ice, trees over the right edge, and a loud gut feeling of Ohhh #$%@#!!

From the info given by ski patrol, doctors, and ski buddies- I went over the right side run into trees full speed ahead. Fast enough to leave ski cuts on the trees 6-8 ft high, and incur some blunt trauma to my left side. For the injury list (this takes some memory)... I had complete fractures of my arm & shoulder, broken/displaced ribs #3-10, pelvis/upper hip bones broken, cracked lumbar vertebrae, shattered the spleen, injury to left kidney, liver, lung contusion and hemopneumothorax (fancy way to say I dropped my left lung) I think I got it all right- Apparently the only thing I didn't hit was my head... or did I?!

Funny how the brain has a protective mechanism that keeps you from remembering painful/traumatic experiences. Over time some things have come back to me about that afternoon. I remember I couldn't breathe, and was scared I couldn't see. I had some awful sounds screaming. No one saw me wipe out off the side. Somehow my goggles & hat were blown into the middle of the trail. MaryDevan noticed them as she skied down next, led her to stop & look around. She's the one who found me face down in the snow. That girl has way scarier memories than I do, bless her heart! She made the calls for ski patrol for help & to fam/friends for immediate prayers. I remember hearing her calming voice.

I wasn't very conscious for the rest of it- Ski patrol used a rope & backboard to pulley me up, and sent me off to the hospital with a poor prognosis. My ruptured spleen was causing major internal bleeding, and hypotensive shock. Luckily, for ski accidents, I arrived at one of the best trauma hospitals- The University Hospital of Salt Lake City. They named me Trauma Orchid, flowers were apparently the theme of the week, so that was my hospital name. Adam came with me- and took all the information, shock, and stress like a champ! Funny, I recall a little bit about All my clothes being cut off in the ER (thats a wow feeling!), pain of a chest tube, and talk about she needs blood. I was fighting to tell them "I'm A-negative!" but I don't think I said anything. No more than a few minutes in the ER, doctors told Adam sign this, sign that, she needs surgery now! My lovely laparotomy report tells all about how my insides and guts were inspected, repaired, and neatly put back. All but my spleen, that was fully removed. MaryDevan, Curt, Jason, Chuck, and Dena all came to the hospital and waited in the ICU with Adam.. I think MaryD even slept on the floor that night with Ad. They started some powerful prayers for me! Joined in by my family, their families, Mcknight family, Highpoint family, many friends, and extended church families I do not know. Those prayers kept me strong, kept my family at peace, and helped doctors provide awesome medical care to me. I'm a very blessed girl, to say the least.

For my "Woo-Hooo!" Saturday one year later, I went out for a celebration 8 mi run at Shelby Farms today, then went to LifeBlood to donate blood. I have 13 units to give back. One down, more to go! Tonight I'm headed out to Christmas party with maryDevan, Matt, Jane.. time to watch Elf! - I'm likely going to be reminiscing about my ski accident/hospital experience all week- so fair warning. Its therapeutic for me, and apparently blogging is the best cheap therapy out there. I have many people that thank over the last year, much more to share, so stay tuned!