After enduring a torn ACL, a broken leg, five surgeries and the loss of her beloved dog, American Olympian and skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is finally back home from the hospital.
‘Home sweet home,’ she wrote on Instagram. ‘Feels good to sleep in my own bed… but wheeling through the front door without Leo greeting me like always was a very hard reality. A reality I had to face. Along with many other hard realities that lay in front of me as I move forward….’
Leo, a shelter dog she adopted in 2014, was recently diagnosed with lung cancer a year-and-a-half after surviving a battle with lymphoma. He then suffered a setback on the same day she crashed at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Vonn announced his death days later.
On Sunday, Vonn pictured herself alongside her dog, Chance, while writing about her difficult recovery ahead. It’s unclear where she was writing from, but the 2010 Olympic gold medalist reportedly has homes around the country.
‘I’m focused now on therapy and getting healthy,’ she wrote. ‘It’s going to be a hard and painful journey but I am putting all of my energy into it, like I always do.
‘I’m going to take some time for myself. I’ll give you updates when I can but right now my focus is on taking care of myself.
On Sunday, Vonn pictured herself alongside her dog, Chance, while writing about her difficult recovery ahead. It’s unclear which of her homes the Olympic skier was posting from
Leo, a shelter dog Lindsey Vonn adopted in 2014, died after a recent cancer battle
‘As always, thank you for the love and support.’
After trying to compete in the women’s downhill with a torn ACL, the iconic skier lost control over the opening traverse and came crashing down along a sharp downslope. Vonn was heard screaming after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel, strapped to a gurney and flown away on a helicopter.
Since then, Vonn had four surgeries in Italy and another in the US. Most recently, Vonn underwent a six-hour procedure Wednesday aimed at rebuilding the leg and covering the skin to avoid infection, according to NPR.
Nolan Horner, a top orthopedic surgeon from Genesis Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Chicago, said Vonn came dangerously close to losing her leg in the violent fall.
‘When it’s identified, the patient should be taken to the operating room almost immediately,’ Horner told EFE, via Marca. ‘Every hour that passes once someone enters compartment syndrome, the risk of permanent damage or even limb loss begins to increase very rapidly.’
In this image taken from video provided by Olympic Broadcasting Services, OBS, United States’ Lindsey Vonn crashes during an alpine ski women’s downhill race
A top surgeon revealed how close Lindsey Vonn was to losing her leg at the Winter Games
Horner, who has experience treating athletes from the NBA, MLB and other leading sports leagues, said Vonn suffered from ‘compartment syndrome.’
‘Compartment syndrome is basically when, due to increased pressure in a muscle compartment, the pressure within that compartment becomes so high that it cuts off the blood supply to the limb. That can cause permanent nerve damage in a limb,’ he continued.
‘It’s considered a surgical emergency, and if it’s not treated very quickly, it can lead to the death of muscle tissue, permanent nerve damage, or even, in severe cases, the loss of the limb.’
According to Horner, after rushing Vonn into surgery doctors opened up or released her fascia – which is a connective layer of tissue that separates muscles in the body.
‘When bleeding or very intense swelling starts in these muscle areas, the fascia contains all of that, and that’s what causes the pressure inside the compartment to start increasing,’ he said.
Opening or releasing the fascia ‘allows the muscles to expand freely’ and ‘relieves the pressure’, which saved Vonn from permanent nerve damage and subsequent amputation.
When asked to assess her recovery timeframe, Horner estimated that the Olympics hero won’t even be able to bear weight on her leg again for up to three months.
‘The fact that she’s an elite athlete greatly improves her chances of a very good outcome, but she certainly has a long road ahead,’ the surgeon admitted. ‘She’ll likely have an extended period where she’s not even allowed to put weight on that limb, to allow the fracture to heal properly.’
