Al Truscott Ski Accident
I;m not really looking for help just reporting to my friends on the team what has happened to me. But if you have experience with concussion or traumatic brain injury and want to post here, that;s welcome.
Those who know me may know I consider myself a better downhill skier than triathlete. I;ve certainly done it longer, although never competitively. My family has had a home in Snowmass, just outside of Aspen, since 1968. So I;m intimately familiar with the terrain and conditions there. Yesterday, my first day of a three week visit (after two weeks in Mid Dec), I started out with a simple warm up run on easier slopes, going down perfectly groomed snow non stop from top (11,808' to bottom (8450'). At the very end there is a little hill, about ten feet high, and I thought I would do a little left hand turn off it to finish with a flourish. But out of sight, the end of the turn was a sudden six foot drop off, and I somehow missed reconnecting with the snow. I ended up crashing my head and face (I was wearing a helmet), knocking myself unconscious for about 6-8 minutes before a ski instructor and the the ski patrol came to my aid.
I was wearing a helmet cam, so I have the entire incident on tape, & thus I know that I have no memory of the five seconds or so preceding the crash, and that I was out for at least about 6-8 minutes (I'll post a link to the video on Facebook for the curious).
I ended up being transported to the local hospital, where a CT scan was done. I had no injuries to my arms, legs or torso. I did have a small (9mm) spot of bleeding in the left frontal lobe of my brain. So I was air lifted via 'copter to Denver, where I was sees by a neurosurgeon. Follow up CT scan, MRI, and neurologic testing have all been reassuring, and I will be discharged tomorrow. I have good friends of 45 years standing in Denver, so no worries about accommodations for the next day or two.
The neurologist and I talked about recovery and how I could re-enter into triathlon training. He suggested I might be able to start up skiing "blue and green" runs (beginner and intermediate) for a couple of weeks, but I said "That;s not going to happen," meaning I would not be able to restrain myself from skiing full bore if I were out there. So the next 2-3 weeks, planned for skiing, will be devoted to rest and recuperation, and "aerobic" swimming and trainer cycling, and maybe some "jogging" after a week. My wife, sister, and son will all be around during this time, and I did have the next two-three weeks pencilled into my season plan as simply "skiing", anticipating no S/B/R to speak of, so I think mentally I'll be able to handle the adjustment.
The good news - there is no orthopedic injury which might impact my triathlon season. But the bad news is, the enforced rest and recovery style training, albeit in the gorgeous setting of Aspen, will be a bit hard to take. And the fact that I have 2 or 3 small spots of "bruising" or bleeding into my cerebrum is a bit scary. The potential for longer-term issues with traumatic brain injury are real, and I need to be on the lookout for that.
I'm going to post a link to this thread to the Dashboard, and the Jan OS forum, as well as the video to my Facebook page. No doubt as this goes on, there will be a series of entries in my blog.
Comments
Hey Al,
First, glad to hear you're (mostly) Ok! It could certainly be a lot worse.
Second, don't be stupid! Listen to your doc, obviously, but you only have one brain and you need to listen to it also and take care of it. For my moto-crash in Feb '13 I don't think I was unconscious but I was out of it for a 6hrs. That is, I have six hour so of my life where I was awake and talking but I don't remember any of it. Apparently I was very entertaining and annoying.
After the crash I had a pretty scary "ringing in my head," that's the only way I can describe it, for about 2-3wks. Looking back, the short list of stupid things I did during this period was continue to work, have alcohol, etc. Looking back I should have just 100% punched out of life and thought as little as possible
for a couple weeks.
Basically, I think you skiing or not skiiing for the next two weeks should be the least of your worries. But if you need someone to come out to Aspen and help you help yourself, I bet I could work something out
Al,
Sorry to hear about this. It's a terrible way to start and finish a ski trip, rest up.
good luck and get well quick.
Al, Please take care and follow the Doc's prescription. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
Wow, so glad you had your brain bucket on! Rest up and be smart, doc!
I'm so sorry this happened to you, Al. I've had a couple concussions, one of which was serious. Looking back, I wish I'd paid more attention to how I was doing during different activities. I often thought I was fine or that I could just suck it up. But I think continuing the activity wasn't just uncomfortable or worse but delayed recovery at times. I didn't think to ask the doctor for parameters (when can start and how long) for sports, reading, screen time, and driving. But I would now and would follow the recommendation. Be careful about driving since it may take longer than you expect for you to be able to drive safely again. Please let me know if there is anything I can do. I hope you feel better and are back to normal sooner than anyone could expect.
Kerrie
Al, I saw your post on FB and now I can't think of anything else. I'm really hoping nothing serious is found when you have a neurology consult. I don't want to get all maudlin here but the doctors did not find the real TBI damage from my crash until days and days later. I was texting and emailing, seeming just fine on line during those days.
Thinking healing thoughts for you, Doc.
That five-minutes of missing memory can be a kind of get out of jail free card going forward if you play it right... I would definitely try to make the most of it!
Heal quickly!
Smart move b/c you just never know.
Rest up. Take it ez. A few weeks of chillin' out goes a long way. Besides, we're not talking about races in this thread. We're talking about family and friends.
Keep us updated.
No more hitting ski jumps at your age. That would be my first piece of advice.
Glad you're mostly okay. Play the recovery smart. I have had several sports related concussions in my teen years. The recovery was different for each one. Doc, listen to your docs.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.