Sorry it took so long for an update on here. For a while I didn’t know what was wrong and then I was too out of it on pain meds for a bit and then I just got overwhelmed with sleeping. Injuries this severe take a lot out of you!
It usually looks like this in Colorado...not this year!!
Powder = LOVE
The Start Gates
Me & Boomhower!!
Good morning!!
My buddy, Miranda :)
I was in Oregon at Mt. Hood Meadows for the USSA Hole Shot (NorAm) boarder cross competition a few weeks ago (3.23-3.25). The first day I was there I got to ride some awesome powder with my friend Cory…some of the only powder I really got to ride this season unfortunately. It was an awesome morning and Mt. Hood is a beautiful place to be!! I then had training on the course that afternoon and it was a fun course, some technical parts of course but all in all it was fun! If I’d known there was going to be a training day the day before I would have come in one day earlier but it wasn’t announced until well after I’d bought plane tickets…it was announced maybe a week prior to the competition, probably would have helped to be able to fine tune some parts of the course.
It’s hard traveling without travel partners…then again it’s hard in other ways traveling with travel partners! I didn’t have the best experience (to say the least) with my travel partners at the competition in Vermont two weeks prior to this competition so I decided I was going to travel alone. Not being 25 (I turn 25 in May) makes it harder and waayyy more expensive to rent a car (not to mention that renting a car solo and not splitting the price makes it more expensive as well) so that fact alone made me previously feel dependant on others while traveling for the sport. I’d say that having the necessary funds to get to a competition is a big deal but also having travel buddies or a team is helpful (in ways).
If I had the money I would bring Stephen (my wax tech/coach/photographer) with me to competitions with but I hardly can afford to get myself to the competitions! Having my coach and wax tech there with me for the race would be extremely beneficial though!! Getting to the course carrying my pack (with waxing supplies, food, water, extra layers, extra goggles, etc.) and carrying my race deck does not leave me an extra arm to carry a bench (to wax my board on). Plus having a bench in my luggage would add a ton of weight and thus I would need to have another bag on the plane, which is not only more money but also more to carry!! There are so many challenging things about this sport other than just the training and riding!
When I get to the course in the morning I set down my bag in an area, do inspection on course, and then I have training. After training is over I need to prep my board with race wax for time trials. Next, I see my time (usually at the bottom of the course) and I immediately head back to the top of the course and prep my board yet again (which I can assure you is very tiring…corking in wax with the friction I create with a tiny little piece of cork is a lot of work!) and then I do the second time trial and I’m usually in a hurry here to get the board prepped again before I am in gate this time. Next are heats – if you’re lucky enough.
Anyways…let’s fast forward to race day #2, Sunday, March 25th. I’d finally felt like I was starting to ride the course well in some of the more tricky areas. I was visualizing well, getting low, jumping fluidly without hesitation. Everything felt solid, like it was coming together well. Time trial #1 came up. I was cruising, really cruising on the course…I felt super confidant! I got to the end of the course and I came over two rollers and doubled them as necessary (attempting to absorb the rollers at this speed, you’d be bucked off)…I landed in what seemed like a perfect position but my knee gave out. “F&@! you!” said my knee, It’s like my knee just gave up. I felt an intense pain immediately (I did not hear or feel a “pop”) and I apparently tumbled at this point. I lay on the ground in pain deciding if I could finish the race or not. The course official came over to me and asked if I was okay..I said I didn’t know. I had always finished my races, even if I fell! Much to my dismay, I soon decided that I couldn’t finish the race. The course official helped me un-strap my bindings. I was still in a lot of pain, but nonetheless I told him I could walk to the bottom. Upon taking another step I realized that was not a realistic option; I decided to ride my board like a sled to the bottom of the course (I was only 2 turns from the bottom).
When I got to the bottom I heard "Are you okay?!" "What happened?!" "You tumbled a few times!" I wiped the wet snow off my face and told them "I hurt my knee." People rushed over and grabbed my board from me as I limped off the course, sat down, and was surrounded by people. It was then that I cried...I had a big fat DNF (Did Not Finish) by my name, my first ever. USASA Nationals was the following week back home at Copper...all I could think is that I needed to be okay to race the next week. Though the ER clinic was only ~3,000 yards away I got convinced into riding the sled down. They didn't burrito-me-up or anything since the clinic was so close; I hopped in and propped up my knee and they strapped me in with my board. It was a scary ride down to the clinic, I am terrified of tubing and it felt much like that except there was even less material between the snow and me!
Once inside the ER clinic I got X-Rays to see if I had any broken bones…they told me I did not. The doctour did some pulling on my leg to test the tendons and ligaments. He told me that he was sure that I'd torn my ACL and that I needed to get an MRI back home in Colorado. I was placed in an immobilizer and it was time to play the waiting game. I had added two extra days on to the end of my trip so I could hang out and ride with my buddies Dylan and Aubrey who had just moved to Oregon this winter from Summit County (where I live). Change of plans :\ We hung out and checked out some sick waterfalls, but there was no hiking to the tops of them for me!
Dylan told me to pose like this!
Me, Aubrey, & Dylan!!
I love how green it is in Oregon!!
So many waterfalls!! Love it!!
After returning to Colorado I finally got in to see the specialist on the 30th, 5 days after my injury. With the help of my parents, I picked out Dr. Sterett who is Lindsay Vonn's docour as he has been the Head Ski Team Physician for the US Ski Team since 1997. I got four X-Rays in Oregon, here I got at least five more. Turns out I did have a fracture in my Tibeal Plateau thus I was placed on crutches that day. After looking at my knee, Dr. Sterett fit me in for an MRI immediately. The MRI showed that I indeed had a mid to posterior rupture of my ACL and that I had a minor tear in my meniscus. The plan: surgery 4 days later on April 3rd. They were to take a tendon from my hamstring and place it where my ACL was previously. A robot-leg brace and crutches until then. Good thing I live the same place the best ACL surgeons do!!
See the robot-leg?!
Though I was crippled I still had to enjoy myself so I enjoyed Gaper Day at "the beach" at Arapahoe Basin! I'll post a few pictures from that!! The pictures are worth a thousand words but if you're confused as to what Gaper Day is, check this link: Gaper Day
The next post will be about the surgery and the post-surgery PT for the next 2 weeks.
XOXOX Summ
