Lindsey Vonn has opened up about her recovery after a Winter Olympics crash that saw her airlifted to hospital, facing multiple surgeries and a broken ankle
Lindsey Vonn has had a number of surgeries on her leg since crashing at the Winter Olympics(Image: Instagram)
Lindsey Vonn has spoken candidly about the gruelling recovery ahead following her traumatic Winter Olympics crash. Just days after sustaining an ACL injury, Vonn remarkably made it to the starting line for the downhill skiing in Italy, but suffered a catastrophic fall that resulted in her being airlifted to hospital.
Vonn has since undergone multiple operations and battled compartment syndrome alongside a broken ankle, coming perilously close to losing her leg. The veteran attributes Dr Tom Hackett with saving her injured leg from amputation by cutting open both sides of Vonn’s leg to relieve pressure and allow it to breathe.
Vonn, 41, clearly faces significant physical injuries to overcome in the coming months but anticipates a challenging mental rehabilitation, which has already begun to emerge.
“Today was a hard day… my physical battle began the second I got hurt but the mental battle started today,” she posted on X.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s a battle I’m used to because I’ve done it so many times. I have always learned from every injury.
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“Each one has made me a better and stronger person in different ways… but the battle of the mind can be dark and hard and unrelenting.
“Someone I care about said ‘I am a master at the psychological game of life…’ I don’t know if that’s true…. I do know hard days are coming but I will find a way back to the top of the mountain of life.”
Vonn is back in the United States but her hospital stay was longer than expected. “I was in the hospital a little longer than I hoped because I had very low haemoglobin from the blood loss from all the surgeries,” she explained.
“I was really struggling, the pain was a little bit out of control and I had to have a blood transfusion. That helped me a lot and I turned the corner and now I am out.
“I am in a wheelchair right now, I am very much immobile, and I will be in a wheelchair for a while because I also broke my right ankle.
“I hope I can be on crutches in a little bit but we will see, and I will probably be on crutches for at least two months.
“But I’ll get right to work on rehab and see what I can do and take it one step at a time, like I always do.”
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