Yesterday I went to see my doctor for a follow-up visit about my back; it's now been more than six weeks since I injured (or possibly re-injured) my back while competing at the X Games. While the broken vertebra was still apparent on the films, my doc was confident based on my pain level (zero) that my spine is healing well, and since it's already essentially immobilized by the spinal fusion that I had in 1999 to correct for my scoliosis, he cleared me to ski, race, and do whatever else I feel like doing.
Obviously, this is awesome news. Today I took four runs at Winter Park in choppy new snow, some of the more challenging conditions I could have asked for, and my back felt great — no pain. I feel ready to head back east next week to get in a couple races before the season wraps up. There are three races at Waterville Valley, N.H., that I will probably skip, and then three more at Sunday River, Maine, that I will attend. They are the first Nor-Am/Level II disabled races to be held at Sunday River, my old home mountain for six years, and I am super-psyched to be able to go, even if there are not too many top skiers racing there. I can't wait to ski the old race trails again — T-2, Monday Mourning, and Right Stuff, here I come.
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
If you'd asked me a month ago, I would have thought that today I'd be in South Korea, getting ready to fly to Japan. Instead I'm sitting in a cafe in Ontario, Oregon. Things can change fast.
As some readers know (despite me not blogging about it), I competed in my second Winter X Games this year, in the Monoskier X event. I did about as well as I could have hoped, qualifying for the semifinals and then failing to advance to the final, but taking second place in the consolation round, for a 6th-place finish overall and a nice little paycheck. But every run I took on the course really did a number on my back. Every time I'd land a jump — of which there were many — I'd feel the impact all the way up my spine.
A week and a half after X Games, after taking plenty of days off snow to rest, I was training at Winter Park and my back still wasn't hurting any less, so I decided to see a doctor. They took some X-rays and found that my T-8 vertebra was kind of crushed or compressed — it appears to be only about half as tall as the other vertebrae. There have been some problems trying to get a diagnosis as to what exactly that means in terms of time off-snow, but for now it means I didn't get to make the trip to Asia for the last two legs of this year's World Cup circuit. So instead I'm here in Ontario visiting my girlfriend, M., working on some lexicography projects and waiting for the final word from my doctor. My season might be over, or maybe I'll be able to race at our U.S. nationals at Soldier Mountain, Idaho, next month.
As some readers know (despite me not blogging about it), I competed in my second Winter X Games this year, in the Monoskier X event. I did about as well as I could have hoped, qualifying for the semifinals and then failing to advance to the final, but taking second place in the consolation round, for a 6th-place finish overall and a nice little paycheck. But every run I took on the course really did a number on my back. Every time I'd land a jump — of which there were many — I'd feel the impact all the way up my spine.
A week and a half after X Games, after taking plenty of days off snow to rest, I was training at Winter Park and my back still wasn't hurting any less, so I decided to see a doctor. They took some X-rays and found that my T-8 vertebra was kind of crushed or compressed — it appears to be only about half as tall as the other vertebrae. There have been some problems trying to get a diagnosis as to what exactly that means in terms of time off-snow, but for now it means I didn't get to make the trip to Asia for the last two legs of this year's World Cup circuit. So instead I'm here in Ontario visiting my girlfriend, M., working on some lexicography projects and waiting for the final word from my doctor. My season might be over, or maybe I'll be able to race at our U.S. nationals at Soldier Mountain, Idaho, next month.
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