American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn disclosed Monday that emergency medical intervention following her devastating crash at the Milano Cortina Olympics prevented the amputation of her left leg. The 41-year-old athlete is now recovering at home and expects to transition from a wheelchair to crutches within weeks.
In a detailed Instagram video post, Vonn explained that her terrifying accident just 13 seconds into the highly-anticipated women’s downhill race resulted in compartment syndrome – a dangerous condition where trauma causes pressure buildup within muscle groups, cutting off blood circulation.
The 2010 Olympic gold medalist and second-most accomplished female World Cup skier in history praised Dr. Tom Hackett from Team USA for his life-changing intervention. Hackett happened to be present in Cortina specifically because Vonn was competing despite recently tearing her left knee’s ACL.
“He saved my leg from being amputated,” Vonn explained in her video message, detailing how she fractured her tibia, fibular head and tibial plateau. “He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he cut open both sides of my leg, kind of filleted it open, so to speak, let it breathe. And he saved me.”
The dramatic accident occurred while Vonn was skiing with a knee brace. She struck a gate with her shoulder, lost control, and was thrown airborne before careening off the course at tremendous speed and crashing in a devastating heap. Television audiences could hear her agonized screams while spectators and fellow competitors watched in stunned silence.
Following the crash, Vonn endured four surgical procedures at an Italian medical facility before returning to the United States, where she underwent an additional six-hour operation.
“It has been quite the journey and by far the most extreme and painful and challenging injury I’ve ever faced in my entire life, times 100,” Vonn stated.
The skiing champion also fractured her right ankle in the accident and spent longer than anticipated in the hospital. She experienced dangerously low hemoglobin levels due to blood loss from multiple surgeries, struggled with severe pain management, and required a blood transfusion that marked a turning point in her recovery.
Vonn anticipates approximately one year for complete bone healing before deciding whether to undergo additional surgery to repair her ACL injury.
“But I’m going to get right to work on rehab and see what I can do and take it one step at a time, like I always do,” Vonn said. “But it’s been – I can’t tell you how painful it’s been. It’s been really hard. And it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics.”
