From NBC News: Lindsey Vonn will have another surgery on her broken left leg Saturday at the Italian hospital treating her, “and then I can potentially leave and go back home.”
Vonn posted a video message on Instagram on Friday following her horrific crash in the Olympic downhill race at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 41-year-old Vonn crashed 13 seconds into her run during Sunday’s race and was airlifted off the course by helicopter. The American skiing standout said late Monday she had suffered a “complex tibia fracture that is currently stable but will require multiple surgeries to fix properly.”
Vonn, who was widely celebrated for her Olympic comeback, had ruptured her ACL just nine days before the crash.
In her post, Vonn said, “Hey guys, I just wanted to give you a little update and say thank you so much to everyone that has been sending me flowers and letters,” Vonn said, adding that she has also received stuffed animals, including a shark pillow that she was resting her head on in the video. “It’s just been so amazing and really helped me a lot.
“It has been quite a hard few days in the hospital here. I’m finally feeling more like myself. I have a long, long way to go. Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, at which point I will need another surgery. Still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it’s kind of where I am right now.”
“And yup, that’s a bruise under my eye,” Vonn added in a written message in her post. “Almost gone though!”
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Vonn is being treated at a hospital by surgeon Stefano Zanarella at at Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso.
She has undergone three surgeries and faces potential lifelong complications.
Zanarella described her broken leg injury as a “complicated, delicate and ongoing situation” after her crash at the Winter Olympics.
“We’re proud to have handled a delicate situation, without neglecting other daily emergencies,” the doctor said.
“The staff [are] trained and ready to intervene at any time, in fact we approached this complicated case with a team of experts, coordinating every step of the recovery process, which we are satisfied with.
“The patient’s words make us proud, also because we managed a delicate and ongoing medical situation. We put in the commitment we reserve for every patient, without being influenced by the fact that she is a champion.
“It’s a high-intensity department. We perform five to six major trauma surgeries every day. Last weekend, we treated about ten patients with fractures.”
One orthopedic expert knee specialist in Lyon, Dr Bertrand Sonnery-Cottet, said had warned that similar injuries to other athletes have required amputation.
He told RMC Sport, “The timeline is quite unpredictable. It will be months before she can walk normally again.
“Her goal now is first and foremost to keep her leg and be able to walk. I think we’re not yet at the stage of returning to high-level skiing. We’re not there yet, but some injuries like hers can end in amputation…”
In an earlier post to Instagram, Vonn is pictured in her hospital bed.
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Read more at NBC News
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