IT’S BEEN SIX WEEKS SINCE I BROKE SIX RIBS SKIING
It’s been six weeks since I broke six ribs skiing in Vermont and I thought I’d provide an update on where I’m at in my recovery, and if or when I’ll be returning to skiing this season. This is my first post to Never Quit Skiing in five weeks and that’s because I’ve really just been focused on my recovery. I won’t cover the details of the accident or my injury in this post, but you can read more about that here.
Picture of me at the hospital in Burlington, Vermont, on Feb. 4.
Over the last month and a half, there’ve been many difficult days, many difficult nights, doctors visits and tests, but I’ve finally turned the corner and life is starting to get back to normal. I returned to work two weeks ago, I’m driving again and I’m pretty mobile now. I can walk for extended periods of time without issue and I’ve been trying to walk a couple of miles every day for exercise. While the pain from my injury has diminished significantly, there’s still some dull pain in my ribs and I’m often a little uncomfortable no matter what I’m doing.
I spent about four weeks living in a recliner and another week on top of that sleeping in the recliner. I’m so glad to say my recliner days have been completely over for about 10 days now. While it’s still a little painful to get up from laying flat on my back, I’m able to sleep in the bed with the help of a wedge. It’s not the most comfortable sleeping situation, but it beats sleeping in a recliner. Every couple of days, my quality of life seems to increase greatly, so I don’t think it will be much longer until I’m able to sleep without the wedge.
The truth is, this all could’ve been even worse than it was. Not only are there a lot of risks for complications that come with breaking that many ribs, which can lead to pain, suffering and even death, but I could’ve struck the tree near me head-on that day. Needless to say, I am happy to be alive and returning to a healthy state. I’ve had a lot of time to think over the last six weeks and I can say with certainty that I’m coming out of this a different person. This was the first time in my life that I’ve flirted with death and it has really shown me just how quickly it can all be over. Life is too short to take any day for granted.
Life is also too short not to ski as much as possible, so naturally I’ve been waiting for the day I can return to the snow. Fortunately, there’s still a lot of ski season left. After all, the season runs well into May if you’re doing it right. My doctors have all given me a six to eight-week timeline to return to normal activity and we’re in that timeframe now. Currently, I’m planning to evaluate where I’m at in the coming days and think about if I’m ready to get back out there. Admittedly, I’m a bit nervous to step back into the bindings, but I think those fears will quickly go away. I will, however, be taking it easy on the snow for the remainder of the season, whenever I do return.
Talk soon,
Lincoln