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The first real alarm was when my lady friend picked me up late that Monday night at DIA. She kept asking me if I had been drinking or smoking because I was completely out of it. I told her no I was fine I just was tired. I slung my ski bag over my shoulder and completely lost my balance and fell to the ground. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t me.
The next day after suffering through my lab I decided I needed to see a doctor. I explained to the doctor how I’d been home skiing for the weekend and came back with headaches and balance issues. She asked if I had hit my head and I told her frankly I don’t remember much of the weekend at all. That was alarm number two. It was pretty clear I had gone lights out and after texting buddies I was skiing with it was confirmed that I had rung my bell and had a pretty nasty concussion.
Doctor said take the rest of the week off, no artificial lights, I’ll get you a doctors note for classes. Easy I said. Sure enough last Tuesday I’m in my lab and again I feel completely out of touch with reality. I was forgetting my phone number, to put my shirt on, and what had happened just the day before. Everything was foggy and trying to think or remember anything felt like solving the theory of everything. My vision was blurry and my balance was completely gone. After a week of spiraling I went back to the doctor who now told me she suspected I had some serious brain damage and perhaps the initial impact was more devastating than we had thought. A CT scan proved ugly as well
so here I am. I’ve been medically forced to withdraw from my classes this semester, I’m seeing a therapist to help reconnect neural pathways, and my ski season is over. This year really felt like my breakthrough year.
This is a dangerous sport. Take every good day as a gift. And for every bad day, remember you’re not alone. As much as this has been tragic and honestly depressing, it has been so beautiful to see all the support and help that both friends and strangers have given me. Never take your gifts for granted and always take a second to be grateful for this beautiful life we live. It’s so easy to get caught up in success and our social lives and school and work that we lose touch with ourselves how beautiful every little thing is. I’m looking out my window and thinking if somebody painted all this detail we would all say wow that’s the most beautiful painting ever. But so many people will walk right by and not stop to appreciate all of this beauty
Anyways… I will leave you with the wise words of our resident medical specialist @WoFlowz
