I know many of you don't really know the details of what happened on Nov. 19th. So here you go.
I am a lift operator at Brian Head Ski Resort for the winter time. I had gotten home from Alaska in October and after visiting family and getting back into work when the resort opened Nov. 15th I decided I would go for a day of fun snowboarding on my day off on the following Tuesday. I had already had a rough day before I got to the mountain, but I thought going to the mountain would be a great stress relief for me to have some fun and have a change of attitude. It was short lived however.. The second run down the hill ended shortly after it started. I love to carve and do S-turns on my board and I have been a avid boarder the three years I have been at Brian Head Resort. As I made it down the hill on the groomed run I felt my board hit some ice under the snow and I was thrown forward and hard as I got the wind knocked out of me and I felt the pain go throughout my body. I yelled out in pain as I felt every portion of my body slam, but as I got my breath back I was feeling better. (I have hit hard like this before in just knocking the wind out of me so I thought that was all it was). Ski Patrol was right behind me and as I screamed in pain they and others on the lift near by yelled "Are you ok?!" Patrol made me aware that I had hit my head a bit and had a little blood on my nose from the goggles hitting during impact. I was able to get up and board down to the patrol room as they examined me.
By this time my stomach was upset and a sharp long pain was appearing on my right side. The patrolers said I had had a concussion but didn't feel I had had internal damage just slammed my body hard. They did recommend checking in with a doctor anyway. I was offered by the owner and a friend/former co-worker for a ride down the mountain. The pain in my side continued so I rested for an hour and a half and after saying a prayer for safety I drove myself down the mountain. Instead of driving back to Cedar City I was headed to Minersville (near Beaver) to spend time with my brother, Kade, his wife, Amber and his son, Ryker. As I was almost 10 miles away from arriving at their house I got hot flashes and nausea. I knew it was something more serious at that point. I pulled over, walked around and laid back in the car for a bit before I felt well enough to continue.
When I arrived at the house I was there alone and took a bath thinking this would help if I happened to have a fever. I laid down to rest but started feeling nauseated again. At this point I texted my brother Kade and asked for him and my brother, Drew to come give me a blessing. They both arrived as I was feeling nauseated.. I walked out to meet them in the kitchen and as I did so I passed out. When I came to minutes later I was laying flat on the floor with Kade's hands on my head giving me a blessing and Drew calling 911. Paramedics came and took me to Beaver Hospital. I had three brothers and two sister-in-laws present. I was so grateful for family support. I know they were all scared for what happened.
After doing x-rays and CT Scans it was determined I had lacerated my right kidney and bruised my left lung. The reason I passed out was the loss of blood. At the hospital they determined to life flight me to Salt Lake City.
I arrived in Murray around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning where they took me to the ICU and for two days I was starved as they determined whether surgery was going to happen. I was thankful to have my mom with me. She had just arrived that day to help my sister, who lives in Salt Lake City and recently had a baby. She arrived after my brother, Drew informed her of my accident.
As the doctors were contemplating how they would fix my injuries they were informed that I have what is called Tuberous Sclerosis. This is a genetic disorder I have had since birth. The result of the disorder are benign tumors in multiple organs including the brain, the eyes, heart, kidneys and skin (and we found out in the bones also) These things are benign not cancerous and throughout my childhood my brother, Ashley, who has the same condition as me, were evaluated yearly with MRI's and regular check ups. We are both healthy and have only had occasional check ups since the age of 18 because the results during childhood stayed the consistent. The only issue I ever had were seizures as a baby that were cured through shots I had. I have never had them since. So when this issue came about the doctors saw that my kidneys were abnormal . What we didn't know is that the abnormality is that my kidneys are four times larger than a normal kidney. When they saw this they said "We don't want to mess with them." They considered taking the injured kidney out, but then decided that if they gave me a transfusion, kept an eye on my blood count, gave me iron supplements and did physical therapy to strengthen the bruised lung and get my strength back. They said the blood should soak back into my tissues and my red blood cells will increase to help myself heal back up on its own. I was grateful that was the decision and boy was I blessed! I still am!
I was in the ICU for two days, then in the hospital until that Sunday the 24th. Since then I have been home in Boulder with my parents. I have made great feats. I give thanks to those who have been praying for me, thinking of me and giving well wishes. God has blessed me so much to make such progress. This last Friday I was able to get off oxygen! I do still use it at night when I sleep just to help me stay strong and since we do not breathe as deep at night it helps me keep up my oxygen until I get a bit stronger. Also on Friday I had blood work done at the doctor and am yet to find out the results of my blood count.
I am continuously progressing. I was able to make it through all of church on Sunday with good oxygen. I do still get tired and have to rest. I have lost 10 pounds since the accident and my diet has changed. My sweet tooth is very small now. I hardly want much and I am kind of grateful. But I know my body is also still working to get better and my appetite is getting stronger as it does so.
(me ready for church)
I cannot return work yet because I know I can't breathe at 9,600 feet yet. I am currently at 6,800 feet. I have to continue physical therapy (walking, and doing breathing exercises) and wait for healing before I can work at that level. I definitely am being worked with patience, but I am so grateful for the time I can spend with my mother especially. We havegotten very close and its nice to be home for awhile.
I thank you all for your support and I hope you are well. My blog will update at least weekly so feel free to follow me!
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