The Last of Ski Camp

My second day of ski camp was pretty rough. In the morning we all took a bus to a certain part of the ski resort. We waited on our ski teachers for a while and did a couple practice runs down a basic slope. Then we got sorted into our groups- beginner, intermediate, and advanced. I got put in the intermediate group with Crash, Parker, and other good friends. Our ski teacher was Canadian and showed us some helpful pointers. I think I improved my technique a bit! Around noon we stopped at restaurant on the slopes for lunch. The food made me feel better after a tiring morning. Then I skied again with some of the advanced skiers and on a final slope to the bottom, the snow got hard to ski on. I forgot to mention that it has been really warm the last week, so the snow was a lot wetter and heavier than what I have been used to. Because of the different snow consistency, I lost control on a long slope and couldn’t slow down. I wiped out badly and when I hit the ground I heard a loud pop from my knee. I instantly knew something was wrong. I laid in the snow, stunned from the fall. My friends asked if everything was ok, and I gave it a few minutes before trying to stand up. When I put weight on my left leg, I felt the bones in my knee sliding past each other instead of being fixed in the joint. My friends and I thought it might be dislocated, so a couple of people skied to the bottom and called for help. 20 minutes later a patrol came and carried me to the bottom. An ambulance was there and brought me to the Schladming hospital. When I got there, they took a look at my knee which had already swollen up to the size of a grapefruit. They took some x-rays and determined that my knee was indeed broken, not just dislocated, and would need surgery. They told me I could either have the operation done in Schladming in the coming days and recover for a week there or I could have the surgery done in a local hospital closer to my town. I chose the latter because I knew skiing was over and by the time I would be recovering, all the exchange students would be done with ski camp. Plus, my host families would be a lot closer. I stayed at the hospital a bit longer, got blood drawn, a temporary leg brace, and crutches. Having Doris and Walter (Rotary Youth Exchange Officers) Weidenholzer and Parker at the hospital was great for some moral support. I finally had clearance to leave the hospital and drove back with Doris and Parker to our hotel, so I could gather my things for one night. It was tough sleeping with a huge swollen leg, but I managed to sleep for a solid 11 hours without too much pain.

In the morning I ate a small breakfast and later in the morning my YEO, Herr Pranckh, picked me up to bring me to the local hospital near Knittelfeld, in Judenburg. There, I got registered, got my overnight room, and was told the plan for the coming days.

Then today I had an appointment at the Knittelfeld hospital for a more in-depth scan of my knee. Turns out it is fractured in 2 places and there is some other damage to the joint. I then came back to Judenburg and talked for a few more doctors who told me more about my surgery tomorrow. It is called a knee arthroscopy; I watched a video about it, and it looks really gross, but I will be sleeping through the whole thing.

That is basically what has happened to me the last few days. Not a fun experience, but I hope I can get through it all in one piece. Sorry if that was confusing to read; I might add more detail later in the coming days. Stay safe!