Lindsey Vonn revealed Monday she narrowly avoided leg amputation following a severe crash during the Winter Olympics earlier this month, crediting a surgeon with saving her leg.
The American skiing icon, 41, sustained a complex leg fracture, including fractures to her tibia and femur, after clipping a gate during the women’s downhill event in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 8th. She underwent multiple surgeries, including a six-hour reconstructive operation last week after returning to the United States.
“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg – he saved it from being amputated,” Vonn said in an Instagram video. “He cut open both sides of my leg, so it was open and let it breathe so to speak. He saved me.”
Vonn also revealed she suffered from compartment syndrome, a condition where swelling and pressure within muscles can compromise blood flow and lead to tissue damage. Dr. Hackett performed a fasciotomy, an emergency procedure to relieve the pressure by making incisions in the leg.
The injury was further complicated by a fractured ankle, requiring additional surgical intervention. Vonn also needed a blood transfusion due to significant blood loss during the procedures, with her hemoglobin levels dropping dangerously low. “I was really struggling. The pain was a little bit out of control, and I had to have a blood transfusion, and that helped me a lot,” she explained.
Vonn is currently recovering in a wheelchair and anticipates being immobile for several weeks, with a potential transition to crutches within the next two months. She will require further surgery to repair a torn ACL, an injury she sustained nine days before the Olympics began.
Despite the ordeal, Vonn expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete and remained optimistic about her future. “I’m going to get it right, work on rehab, see what I can do and take it one step at a time, like I always do,” she said. “But, I can’t advise you how painful it’s been. It’s been really hard, and it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics… I wish it had ended differently, but I’d rather proceed down trying than not try at all.”
Vonn acknowledged the significance of simply being able to compete, given the circumstances. “This year was incredible, and so worth everything. I worked really hard to get back, and it was so worth it. This was just one blip on the radar.”
She likened her recovery to that of Rocky Balboa, vowing to persevere through the challenges ahead. “Life is life, and we have to take the punches as they reach, so I do the best I can with this one. It’s really knocked me down, but I’m like Rocky, I’ll just keep getting back up.”
