Simms
New member
Hey Guys,
I think we've all talked about injuries we have have sustained here or there, however lets get them in one thread! Of course these pictures wont be as pretty as the "bridges" thread, but it would be cool to see some battle wounds!!!!
Well, it was January 5th, 2009 and I was up at my parent's condo in Okemo, VT which sits RIGHT on the mountian, ski in-ski out. I was up there with 7 of my closest friends and we were shredding the mountain HARD! It snowed the night before and conditions were just incredible and the traffic was LOW! I was my tracks at 2pm that I made at 8am!
We were doing some knarlyyyyyy trails, doble diamonds and some unmarked chutes, just TEARING it up! We did not even stop for lunch skiing was so good! A few of the girls had to call it quits as their legs were like jelly, but my (2) buddies, sister, and I stayed out to finish up the day.
Well, in VT, on mountains that do not have twilight skiing, which is most, lifts close at 4:00pm. Sharp. So, do to the location of my condo, at 3:55, we take the bunny hill lift tot he top, and ski right into the back door, instead of clicking out and walking up the long set of steps to the back door...
So we took one last run and I was coming in, SLOW, to the bunny hill, only about 50 yards AWAY! I hit some snow making tubes that were just under the snow. (They had them laid out as there was NO one on the mountain at the time except for us. Even so, dangerous as you will soon see) So, when my skiis came in contact with that the rubber hoses, it slowed me down almost INSTANTLY and I started to fall... I have been a ski racer for years and normally can correct any mishap pretty easily and be on my way. This time, for some reason, I was not able to.
So i fall awkwardly, hard, and as I realized I have fallen, I am in some serious pain and the TOP of my left foot is touching my ass...HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! not good! So, my buddy is next to me to and I said, "Phil, I think I just broke my F***** leg!" He said ,"GET OUTOF HERE!"
So, knowing it would hurt, I wanted to see how bad it was so I moved my leg to see the extend of the damage. I moved it and positioned it straight out from my body like my other leg..IT DID NOT HURT, and I COULD NOT FEEL IT....Now, thanking my lucky stars no bones were pretruding from my skin, I knew I had another problem...
Next to me, where I fell, i saw some drops of blood. I couldn't figure it out. So, my buddies came by and they saw a slice in my snow bad at the knee area...Hmmm. So, i looked in there, and HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly doubled over. The only way I can describe it is it should have been in an anatomy book for doctors/nurses to study the knee/shin area. IT WAS COMPLETELY layed open. Not to mention, the ONLYYYYYYY thing keeping the top half of my leg attached to the bottom, was the skin in the back of my knee...
My one buddy couldn't stop hurling, and my sister, being an RN, LOVED IT! HAHA!
So, they called SKI PATROL and an ambulance. The head ski patrol guy kept telling me I only "knicked" my knee and a few stitches I would be back out and ready to ride again. HA!!! So, the snowmobile took my up the mountain tot he base lodge where the Ambulance/copter were positioned. They loaded me in and then the ski instructor stepped in and said, "I didn't wanna tell you when you were laying there on the mountain, but now that your in safe hands, YOU ARE EXTREMELY FUCKED UP!"
Well that was just AWESOME to hear! So I made my way to the first hospital and they looked at it and didn't even wanna touch me. Too serioues. So it was a 45minute drive in the Ambulane to Dartmouth-Hitchcock where they began surgery IMMEDIATELY...Originally thinking it would only take 45 minutes, I got out of surgery 4.5 hours later...With a cast covering half my body, a PLASTER cast...
When iwas coherant enough to speak tot he doctor, he said luckily when I fell, my knee smashed into the snow and clotted the blood immediately or else I could have bled out within minutes....He also said ALL my ligements/tendons were severed in my knee and nothing was holding it together besides the skin in the back. He then asked me if I sharpened my skis? I said of course, I raced. He said, THANK GOD, and he also had a suspicion I did as well since the cut was AS CLEAN as if you took a knife to it. Dr. said if it had been rusty, I would have been screwed as it would have torn/pulled the ligaments instead of cut them.
So my dad got up there at 7am the day I awoke from surgery and the Dr came back to give us the future of my knee... I was to be in a cast for 7months, changing it regularly as my leg SHRUNK due to atrophy...
I was really bummed/depressed..SNOWMOBILE season was shot, and so was fishing, so I thought... With over 400'' of SNOW on tug hill that season, it was painful looking at the webcams and seeing my sled trailer parked, for good...Oh well...
As fishing season came around, I was getting ansty....It was the 4th month, and I was not in a soft/articulating cast, as I couldn't bend my leg 10degrees yet..
I began physical therapy the day before opener and was told SPECIFICALLY NOT TO FISH OR DUE ANY TYPE OF ACTIVITY...Well, 8am, I was wetting a line on opening day!!!!! NOT GOOD. The dr. finally found out as well as my physical therapist and they were not pleased...So, 5 days a week, after PT< i headed to the gorge... This was one of my best years at the gorge...I knew every fish by name and what they prefered!!! I could barely get around, yet with my walking stick, I still managed...A few tumbles I took were scary, but as I got back up and that 16'' bow was still sizzling drag, I quickly forgot about the pain!!!
May 15th, I was up to the Ausable for the first trip of the year!!!!! After that, its been fireworks ever since! HAHA
I met a few people such as RUSTY SPINNER at POINT MOUNTAIN and a few of you at the gorge...Everyone always wondered WHY i was out fishing in an aparatus such as the one I was wearing, and having no medical knowledge, they all knew I should not have been there...LOL
My buddies were ALL jealous as I would send them pics of fish EVERY SINGLE DAY, while they were sitting in organic chemistry.uking-smiley: Luckily, my school worked with me and let me do my semester online...I buckled down, finished it within 2 weeks, and had 13 weeks to fish and jerk around!!!! I never fished so much before. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
My knee still KILLS me, esp on those crappy days, and I will FOREVER where that articulating cast while fishing....If I happen to fall with my weight on my bad knee, my ligaments/tendon could snap like rubber bands and I will be int he position i was on January 5th, laying in the snow....
You should see me run down the side of the Salmon River with a steelie on, its a sight to see!!!!!
here are some pics!
This is after my 2rd surgery!!!!(no pics of aftre the first as my leg was plastered with a cast for 4 months!
This is after my 3rd!
This is after my 4th surgery, 4 months after the accident, CROSSSSSSSSING the whiteface section of the ausable river..Those that know the area, you know its prob one of the knarliest sections of the WHOLE west branch!!!!!
And here is my GF who carted my ass around for months in the back seat. Couldn't have done it without her!
My next surgery is scheduled for may!!! :crap:
Tight lines!!!!!
I think we've all talked about injuries we have have sustained here or there, however lets get them in one thread! Of course these pictures wont be as pretty as the "bridges" thread, but it would be cool to see some battle wounds!!!!
Well, it was January 5th, 2009 and I was up at my parent's condo in Okemo, VT which sits RIGHT on the mountian, ski in-ski out. I was up there with 7 of my closest friends and we were shredding the mountain HARD! It snowed the night before and conditions were just incredible and the traffic was LOW! I was my tracks at 2pm that I made at 8am!
We were doing some knarlyyyyyy trails, doble diamonds and some unmarked chutes, just TEARING it up! We did not even stop for lunch skiing was so good! A few of the girls had to call it quits as their legs were like jelly, but my (2) buddies, sister, and I stayed out to finish up the day.
Well, in VT, on mountains that do not have twilight skiing, which is most, lifts close at 4:00pm. Sharp. So, do to the location of my condo, at 3:55, we take the bunny hill lift tot he top, and ski right into the back door, instead of clicking out and walking up the long set of steps to the back door...
So we took one last run and I was coming in, SLOW, to the bunny hill, only about 50 yards AWAY! I hit some snow making tubes that were just under the snow. (They had them laid out as there was NO one on the mountain at the time except for us. Even so, dangerous as you will soon see) So, when my skiis came in contact with that the rubber hoses, it slowed me down almost INSTANTLY and I started to fall... I have been a ski racer for years and normally can correct any mishap pretty easily and be on my way. This time, for some reason, I was not able to.
So i fall awkwardly, hard, and as I realized I have fallen, I am in some serious pain and the TOP of my left foot is touching my ass...HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! not good! So, my buddy is next to me to and I said, "Phil, I think I just broke my F***** leg!" He said ,"GET OUTOF HERE!"
So, knowing it would hurt, I wanted to see how bad it was so I moved my leg to see the extend of the damage. I moved it and positioned it straight out from my body like my other leg..IT DID NOT HURT, and I COULD NOT FEEL IT....Now, thanking my lucky stars no bones were pretruding from my skin, I knew I had another problem...
Next to me, where I fell, i saw some drops of blood. I couldn't figure it out. So, my buddies came by and they saw a slice in my snow bad at the knee area...Hmmm. So, i looked in there, and HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly doubled over. The only way I can describe it is it should have been in an anatomy book for doctors/nurses to study the knee/shin area. IT WAS COMPLETELY layed open. Not to mention, the ONLYYYYYYY thing keeping the top half of my leg attached to the bottom, was the skin in the back of my knee...
My one buddy couldn't stop hurling, and my sister, being an RN, LOVED IT! HAHA!
So, they called SKI PATROL and an ambulance. The head ski patrol guy kept telling me I only "knicked" my knee and a few stitches I would be back out and ready to ride again. HA!!! So, the snowmobile took my up the mountain tot he base lodge where the Ambulance/copter were positioned. They loaded me in and then the ski instructor stepped in and said, "I didn't wanna tell you when you were laying there on the mountain, but now that your in safe hands, YOU ARE EXTREMELY FUCKED UP!"
Well that was just AWESOME to hear! So I made my way to the first hospital and they looked at it and didn't even wanna touch me. Too serioues. So it was a 45minute drive in the Ambulane to Dartmouth-Hitchcock where they began surgery IMMEDIATELY...Originally thinking it would only take 45 minutes, I got out of surgery 4.5 hours later...With a cast covering half my body, a PLASTER cast...
When iwas coherant enough to speak tot he doctor, he said luckily when I fell, my knee smashed into the snow and clotted the blood immediately or else I could have bled out within minutes....He also said ALL my ligements/tendons were severed in my knee and nothing was holding it together besides the skin in the back. He then asked me if I sharpened my skis? I said of course, I raced. He said, THANK GOD, and he also had a suspicion I did as well since the cut was AS CLEAN as if you took a knife to it. Dr. said if it had been rusty, I would have been screwed as it would have torn/pulled the ligaments instead of cut them.
So my dad got up there at 7am the day I awoke from surgery and the Dr came back to give us the future of my knee... I was to be in a cast for 7months, changing it regularly as my leg SHRUNK due to atrophy...
I was really bummed/depressed..SNOWMOBILE season was shot, and so was fishing, so I thought... With over 400'' of SNOW on tug hill that season, it was painful looking at the webcams and seeing my sled trailer parked, for good...Oh well...
As fishing season came around, I was getting ansty....It was the 4th month, and I was not in a soft/articulating cast, as I couldn't bend my leg 10degrees yet..
I began physical therapy the day before opener and was told SPECIFICALLY NOT TO FISH OR DUE ANY TYPE OF ACTIVITY...Well, 8am, I was wetting a line on opening day!!!!! NOT GOOD. The dr. finally found out as well as my physical therapist and they were not pleased...So, 5 days a week, after PT< i headed to the gorge... This was one of my best years at the gorge...I knew every fish by name and what they prefered!!! I could barely get around, yet with my walking stick, I still managed...A few tumbles I took were scary, but as I got back up and that 16'' bow was still sizzling drag, I quickly forgot about the pain!!!May 15th, I was up to the Ausable for the first trip of the year!!!!! After that, its been fireworks ever since! HAHA
I met a few people such as RUSTY SPINNER at POINT MOUNTAIN and a few of you at the gorge...Everyone always wondered WHY i was out fishing in an aparatus such as the one I was wearing, and having no medical knowledge, they all knew I should not have been there...LOL
My buddies were ALL jealous as I would send them pics of fish EVERY SINGLE DAY, while they were sitting in organic chemistry.
uking-smiley: Luckily, my school worked with me and let me do my semester online...I buckled down, finished it within 2 weeks, and had 13 weeks to fish and jerk around!!!! I never fished so much before. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!My knee still KILLS me, esp on those crappy days, and I will FOREVER where that articulating cast while fishing....If I happen to fall with my weight on my bad knee, my ligaments/tendon could snap like rubber bands and I will be int he position i was on January 5th, laying in the snow....
You should see me run down the side of the Salmon River with a steelie on, its a sight to see!!!!!
here are some pics!
This is after my 2rd surgery!!!!(no pics of aftre the first as my leg was plastered with a cast for 4 months!
This is after my 3rd!
This is after my 4th surgery, 4 months after the accident, CROSSSSSSSSING the whiteface section of the ausable river..Those that know the area, you know its prob one of the knarliest sections of the WHOLE west branch!!!!!
And here is my GF who carted my ass around for months in the back seat. Couldn't have done it without her!
My next surgery is scheduled for may!!! :crap:
Tight lines!!!!!
