Recovery Mode
Well, it had to happen… you can avoid it for so long, but sooner or later, the snow snakes will getcha. That’s what happened to me a short while ago up at Squaw Valley USA in Lake Tahoe, CA. Long story short, it was a beautiful sunny day, the snow was great, I was hanging with friends, and then I apparently made a wrong turn, then woke up in the ambulance en route to the emergency room.
Yes, that is silk underwear and those cuts/scratches were from rocks that cut through my ski jacket, liner, and insulated layers during my fall. Photo from the ER, courtesy of friend, Chuck Peters.
I don’t remember anything other than coming through a chute, making a big right hand turn to burn off some speed, and then… the ambulance. Apparently, I was pretty comical when I came to. The ski patrol went through the usual routine (How old are you, where do you live, what’s your birthday, etc.) and when they got to the question of “Do you know what you were doing?”, I responded plainly: “Shredding the gnar!” Ha… I DON’T remember that one, but my buddy Chuck does who stopped my fall after about 75-100 yards of tumbling, while unconscious, over rock, snow, and ice. (Thanks, Chuck!)
Lots to look forward to upon my full recovery in just a few months like this perfect, peeling left-hander somewhere along the Central Coast of California!
The end result after many visits to the doctors is this: torn MCL in my right knee, slight tear in my rotator cuff in my right shoulder, three broken transverse processors on my spine and plenty of bruising, and a nasty concussion from knocking myself out for 8-10 minutes. I can move around (painfully), and while I can’t ski, ride, surf, run, etc. at the moment, I consider myself pretty darn lucky that I WILL be able to return to doing those things in a few months and that, for now, at least I can play guitar, sing, and write when my head isn’t in a fog. So, with that in mind, I’m looking towards blue skies and gettin’ busy with the recovery mode. Hope you’re all well and thanks for listening! See ya back out there on the road soon…