Important/good news first: Kate only broke her femur. There was some initial concern that she also might have broken her hip and suffered some back injuries, but both areas were fine.
She has been taken off all tubes/IVs/oxygen and is moving around on crutches. She is no longer wearing the stylish hospital gown. Shes moved on to shorts and a t-shirt.
How/what happened: Her crash happened on our third practice run on Saturday. It was on the chute after the drop. If you were there, I am sure you know exactly when/where I am talking about. The chute had a sort of drop-in at the top. It was a ~45deg left over a log that had about a 1 drop on the back side of it into an extremely steep chute. It was enough that your wheels would lose contact with the ground as you were dropping in. It was a little sketchy to say the least. I had found it easier to take the left a little on the wide side. Kate was trying to do that, but ended up a little too wide. She clipped a tree and that sent her over the bars. We estimate that she fell about 10 feet before landing on her left side, breaking her femur. The break is diagonal and covers roughly the middle third of the bone. Because of where she fell, it took about 2 hours to get her off the mountain. Winching her up the course definitely put the training of Roxbury Fire Rescue and ALS to the test, but they were all great. Being positioned on to a backboard on a steep, loose slope with a broken femur and no pain meds is not a pleasant experience, but they were able to keep her discomfort at an absolute minimum. One of the main concerns was the amount of rock and debris coming down the hill. We left her bike in the middle of the trail to help catch the stuff. From the mountain, it was a 12 minute helicopter ride to the Cooperstown trauma center. Bassett Hospital is part of the New York Presbyterian system, so she was in good hands (Cornell and Columbia medical schools). I had to drive to the hospital, and within 10 minutes of my arrival she was being wheeled into surgery. She now has a titanium rod and 2 screws in her leg. The surgery took almost 4 hours. It took longer than normal because the surgeons did not want to cut her thigh open along the fractures sight. They were able to do all the work through 2 small incisions. One cut at each end of her thigh. Each is only about 2 long. It sounds gruesome, but will have no permanent effects. It will also make the healing process go by much faster. Because of the rod, the bones cannot move. She is still able to bend at the knee and hip. It is weird to look at her leg. All you see is an Ace bandage wrapped around the bottom of her thigh, and a gauze patch up on her hip. Everything else is exposed. It doesnt look like anything is even wrong with her. It is strange to think about all the craziness going on inside of her leg.
They had her up on crutches less than 48 hours after her crash. I still cant believe that. Round 1 was just to get her upright and had her walk as far as her oxygen line would let her- about 10 feet. Round 2 was in the afternoon. With no oxygen, she made it about 60. Today she is being told that she cant walk unless someone is with her. The fact that they have to hold her back this early is a great sign. She should be home in the next couple of days. I came home last night, but her parents are still with her. It is looking like there will be no long-term setbacks. Right now she needs to just focus on getting better. Kate is a true competitor and those who know her know that she will be 100% in no time. She already races expert XC, DH, STXC and Super D and still hopes to turn pro in all. Between the VT and WV nationals this year, she came home with 6 medals from 7 events.
There are a bunch of people we wanted to thank. Thank you #1 goes to the rider who stayed with us for so long, even after Dr. Bob had showed up. I think his name is Scott. He was wearing a blue jersey. We really appreciated you sticking around for so long. Everyone else there was doing there job, but you sacrificed training time to help a rider in need. Then there is Dr. Bob, Glenn, Karl, Macker, and all the other paramedics whose name I cannot remember. Cant forget about Lazlo either. And lastly out friend Andy. Andy broke his humorous 7 weeks ago and was only at PKill to cheer on friends. He broke his femur 3 years ago. He stayed with me in Cooperstown from Sunday until yesterday and let Kate know that everything would be fine. Having the support of a friend who has been there means so much more than anything a doctor says.
But that is all for now. The hardest part is over. Now it is just a matter of getting better. She has been getting a lot of encouragement from riding friends, and that has meant the world to her. If you would like to get in touch with her, the sooner the better. Her spirits are continuously rising. She has moved on from initially telling me to not even say the word bike to trying to figure out how soon shell be able to road ride, then XC, then DH This will not keep her off the bike.
-James
She has been taken off all tubes/IVs/oxygen and is moving around on crutches. She is no longer wearing the stylish hospital gown. Shes moved on to shorts and a t-shirt.
How/what happened: Her crash happened on our third practice run on Saturday. It was on the chute after the drop. If you were there, I am sure you know exactly when/where I am talking about. The chute had a sort of drop-in at the top. It was a ~45deg left over a log that had about a 1 drop on the back side of it into an extremely steep chute. It was enough that your wheels would lose contact with the ground as you were dropping in. It was a little sketchy to say the least. I had found it easier to take the left a little on the wide side. Kate was trying to do that, but ended up a little too wide. She clipped a tree and that sent her over the bars. We estimate that she fell about 10 feet before landing on her left side, breaking her femur. The break is diagonal and covers roughly the middle third of the bone. Because of where she fell, it took about 2 hours to get her off the mountain. Winching her up the course definitely put the training of Roxbury Fire Rescue and ALS to the test, but they were all great. Being positioned on to a backboard on a steep, loose slope with a broken femur and no pain meds is not a pleasant experience, but they were able to keep her discomfort at an absolute minimum. One of the main concerns was the amount of rock and debris coming down the hill. We left her bike in the middle of the trail to help catch the stuff. From the mountain, it was a 12 minute helicopter ride to the Cooperstown trauma center. Bassett Hospital is part of the New York Presbyterian system, so she was in good hands (Cornell and Columbia medical schools). I had to drive to the hospital, and within 10 minutes of my arrival she was being wheeled into surgery. She now has a titanium rod and 2 screws in her leg. The surgery took almost 4 hours. It took longer than normal because the surgeons did not want to cut her thigh open along the fractures sight. They were able to do all the work through 2 small incisions. One cut at each end of her thigh. Each is only about 2 long. It sounds gruesome, but will have no permanent effects. It will also make the healing process go by much faster. Because of the rod, the bones cannot move. She is still able to bend at the knee and hip. It is weird to look at her leg. All you see is an Ace bandage wrapped around the bottom of her thigh, and a gauze patch up on her hip. Everything else is exposed. It doesnt look like anything is even wrong with her. It is strange to think about all the craziness going on inside of her leg.
They had her up on crutches less than 48 hours after her crash. I still cant believe that. Round 1 was just to get her upright and had her walk as far as her oxygen line would let her- about 10 feet. Round 2 was in the afternoon. With no oxygen, she made it about 60. Today she is being told that she cant walk unless someone is with her. The fact that they have to hold her back this early is a great sign. She should be home in the next couple of days. I came home last night, but her parents are still with her. It is looking like there will be no long-term setbacks. Right now she needs to just focus on getting better. Kate is a true competitor and those who know her know that she will be 100% in no time. She already races expert XC, DH, STXC and Super D and still hopes to turn pro in all. Between the VT and WV nationals this year, she came home with 6 medals from 7 events.
There are a bunch of people we wanted to thank. Thank you #1 goes to the rider who stayed with us for so long, even after Dr. Bob had showed up. I think his name is Scott. He was wearing a blue jersey. We really appreciated you sticking around for so long. Everyone else there was doing there job, but you sacrificed training time to help a rider in need. Then there is Dr. Bob, Glenn, Karl, Macker, and all the other paramedics whose name I cannot remember. Cant forget about Lazlo either. And lastly out friend Andy. Andy broke his humorous 7 weeks ago and was only at PKill to cheer on friends. He broke his femur 3 years ago. He stayed with me in Cooperstown from Sunday until yesterday and let Kate know that everything would be fine. Having the support of a friend who has been there means so much more than anything a doctor says.
But that is all for now. The hardest part is over. Now it is just a matter of getting better. She has been getting a lot of encouragement from riding friends, and that has meant the world to her. If you would like to get in touch with her, the sooner the better. Her spirits are continuously rising. She has moved on from initially telling me to not even say the word bike to trying to figure out how soon shell be able to road ride, then XC, then DH This will not keep her off the bike.
-James
