The final phase of recovery

After returning home from moving all of my belongs to Vermont I began the final phase of the recovery process. I have been cleared by the doctors to do anything as long as there is not a risk of taking a high speed fall like I did a couple of months ago, they said that I need rebuild and even out the strength on my left side. I figured the best way to do this was to do exactly the type of things that I did to get as strong as I was in the first place, working outside and training. For the month of June that is exactly what I did. Most days I would get up first thing and get 5-6 hours of work done while it was still nice and cool out take a long lunch break and then train for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I did lots of fun work projects and had some really fun training days as well. I have pictures of some of the more notable work and training projects/adventures below. 

I collected most of the firewood to get my patents through the winter but first had to build a trailer to haul the logs out of the woods with.

 

A cool old gate I found along a hike run to the top of Milton Mountain. Milton Mountain sits next to Gardner Mountain in Winthrop and I stare up at it wanting to climb it every day... I finally made it!

One of three weight lifting platforms that I made with my dad for Pete at Winthrop PT and Fitness.

Putting the final screws in the roof of the barn that my dad and I build while I was home

I added some wood glue and screws to my broken stock and it is almost as good as new.

My mom and I were working on clearing a trail that had lots of fallen down trees, the first few times I carried the saw up on my back but after clearing enough of the trail that we had to hike UP the steep trail four miles we decided to borrow a horse to carry our stuff for us.

My mom and I went on a backpack trip to Fox lakes, the first day we hiked into the lakes did some fishing and spent the night. The second day we took the "scenic" way home traversing a ridge all day over 7,500 feet and climbing 5 mountains. 

Fox Lakes in the Pasayten Wilderness

The Amazing view we had all day

The last weekend I was home I helped my mom host a biathlon camp for out local Methow Valley Biathlon junior team, one day we drove to Harts pass and all the kids and my mom went one direction on a hike, I went the other direction on a 25 mile run to buckskin lake. It turned out the trail to get there was a little bit harder then I had anticipated and therefor it took me a couple hours longer then I thought but I had packed an extra power bar in my bag and it was a beautiful day making it pretty hard to complain. 

The trail to Buckskin lake... just another day at the office.

Looking down on Buckskin Lake.

I was greeted with watermelon by the campers, it tasted pretty good after my 7 hour adventure.

I am now off to Craftsbury, Vermont to start the real summer training.

More recovery and moving to Vermont

Over the past few weeks I have done quite a bit of traveling and its not ending now. I started out traveling from home in Winthrop back east to Fort Kent where I packed all of my belongings into my car and headed south eventually bound for Vermont. On the way I stopped at Acadia National park in Bar Harbor, Maine and spent the afternoon running and hiking around the mountains in that area. It was pretty cool to see and much different then the northern part of Maine where I have been living. From Bar Harbor I drove to Bangor, Maine where I spent the next four days working for Maddie's dad, Joe, at the Northeastern Loggers Expo. The expo is a huge trade show that Joe organizes every year, there are exhibitors there from all aspects on the logging industry and over 4000 attendees. The first two days I was helping to set up the fair grounds, setting up signs, hanging banners, and doing whatever else needed to be done. For the two days that the expo was going I was a cashier collecting peoples $7 that they would pay to enter the expo. Seeing all of the logging equipment was really cool!

After working at the expo I headed to Craftsbury, Vermont where I will be based out of for at least the next year as I train with and race for the Craftsbury Green Racing Team. On the way to Craftsbury I stopped in New Hampshire and climbed to the top of Mt. Madison one the the peaks in the White Mountain range. I spent 3 days in Craftsbury getting moved and settled in before returning home to Winthrop. 

Yesterday I went to Wenatchee for some doctors appointments, they all went exceptionally well. First I had another EMG test which again was not very fun. The EMG test measures the function of your nerves and in order to do this they stab you with a needle then shock your muscle with the needle and measure your nerves response. Luckily this time I only had about 6 stabs rather then the 30 stabs I had last time. The results of this test came back really good and the doctor was very surprised to see my progress from the last test. The EMG showed that my nerve is functionally fully and normally. The neurologist said the amount of regained function I gained usually takes 4-6 months, it has been 6 weeks since I had the first EMG test. Such a quick recovery of my nerve and shoulder function I think is largely due to the tremendous help I received from Pete Dickinson at Winthrop PT he was keeping my on track and helping me almost daily to recover and regain my mobility, it clearly paid off. Thank you Pete!

After the EMG test I saw doctor Clarke who is an internal medicine specialist, I have been working with him as my general doctor through my entire recovery. Dr. Clarke reviewed a recent CT scan of my lung and looked at my overall well being. The CT of my lung showed that the large bruise that I previously had is almost entirely healed. He was very happy to see this as well as a little surprised that it healed so quickly. Looking forward I need to work on regaining the strength back in my shoulder and rotator cuff and recreate a balance of my upper body. 

Right now I am on my way to Boulder, Colorado where in conjunction to Colorado Biathlon Club I am hosting a spring shooting clinic. I will be coaching two days of intense biathlon shooting training at the Boulder Rifle Club's indoor range. I am pretty excited about this and think it will be a fun weekend. After the clinic I will return home to Winthrop to finish my recovery before heading to Craftsbury, Vermont to begin training. 

The car packed up and ready to move to Vermont

HIking in Acadia National Park

The view from the top of Mt. Cadillac in Acadia National Park

You know it was a successful run when...

Just a small sample of the equipment at the logging expo

A stump grinder/rototiller at the expo

Sitting inside a tree feller

Inside a log skidder

The top of Mt. Madison, New Hampshire

Arriving in Craftsbury, Vermont

The Future: recovery and new training opportunities

The last few weeks I have been busy working on my recovery and trying to figure out what I am going to for training for the next year. I have made really good progress on both. For next year I have been accepted in the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) in Craftsbury, Vermont and will be leaving the Maine Winter Sports Center. The Craftsbury GRP has had an elite level cross county program for several years and more currently added an elite level biathlon program. With lots of program changes happening at the Maine Winter Sports Center I felt that making the switch to the Craftsbury team would be the most beneficial for myself and for my training. The Maine Winter Sports Center has given me lots of opportunity and support and really helped me progress as an athlete. You can read more about MWSC happenings here and here. I am really excited about the opportunity to join the GRP! More info about the GRP can be found on their website: www.craftsbury.com

My recovery has been progressing very well! Three weeks ago I saw Pete at Winthrop PT for the first time and could not lift my left arm more then one inch, yesterday I was doing overhead presses with 15lb weights in each hand. I have been seeing Pete 2-3 times per week, he has been helping me break up the scar tissue and stretch my shoulder and back in order to regain mobility. The quick progress I have made has been really cool to watch, almost everyday I have noticed an improvement in my mobility and/or strength. In addition to PT I have been exercising everyday. I started out on the sit down stationary bike but since have progressed through the upright stationary bike and treadmill to being able to run outside continuously for an hour. This is a long ways from where I was 8 weeks with 20 broken bones, a punctured lung, and hardly able to walk in the hospital. 

At my last doctors visit I was almost given a clean bill of health, almost being the key word. After 8 weeks all of my bone fractures have healed pretty solidly and I can ease back into normal life paying attention to any pain that I have, especially in my shoulder. I cannot do anything hard intensity wise because of my lung and have to avoid anything that could leave me with a hard crash on my shoulder like mountain biking or roller skiing. 

At the end of May I will be getting another EMG nerve test to make sure that the function is fully returning like it seems to be. If the results of this test come back good I will be moving to Vermont in the early part of June to begin real training. 

Enjoying the sun flowers and snow covered mountains on a hike with my mom.

Helping pour concrete for a center pivot irrigation system, I was the head supervisor and photographer

The first baby lamb born of my family's sheep

National team nominations and more recovery

Yesterday came the much awaited phone call from the US Biathlon national team where I learned if I will be named to any teams, receive any support, or get the attend any camps where I could train with the national team athletes and coaches. I found out that I will not be receiving anything, no coaching, no training group, no support, nothing, they have totally dropped me. This was very frustrating to hear, especially because there are several athletes who I beat in every race all season, except for one, who got named to the national team and are getting full support, full national team coaching, and full opportunity to have the top level training group. I was told that these athletes were named to the national team because they did well at the national championship and showed promise for improvement. This makes me wonder if USBA remembers that won the IBU cup trials in December and had one of the best single results of any American on the IBU cup this season. Additionally I can say with confidence that if I did not crash and was able to complete the season I would have been one of the top US athletes in Canmore at the IBU cups and at nationals.

I could go on and on with reasons and statistics of how I have proved myself and have better results then the athletes USBA is naming to the national team and supporting but that will not help the situation. From here I look forward to making a full recovery and becoming a better faster biathlete.

In much more positive news my recovery is continuing to go very well, I had another doctors visit and have started physical therapy. My lung, ribs, and back are continuing to heal well and I have been cleared to increase my activity level, 1 hour continuous up to two times per day of walking or stationary biking. My shoulder is what the doctors are still concerned with most but it seems to be getting better and they are unsure if I will need surgery, like they had previously thought. For now I will begin to rehab it and we will re-access in June if I need surgery or not. My first "official" physical therapy appointment went really well I was able to lift my arm all the way over my head!! A week ago I unable to lift my arm at all. Pete Dickinson and Winthrop Physical Therapy has been very helpful and supportive of me and I look forward to continue working with them through my recovery process.

In my spare time I used our BBQ as a smoker to make smoked lamb shanks for dinner one night

I have also been making Dr. Betsy's Lamburgeenie dog treats, for sale at Winthrop Vet Services

Doctors, Adventuring, and Shearing

Last week I had another doctors visit which I considered to be overall successful. I saw Dr. Tornabene a neurologist,  Dr. Clarke my primary care doctor, and in the parking lot happened to run into Dr. Thorson my orthopedic doctor. Dr. Tornabene gave me and EMG test which I wont lie was not fun at all! You lay on your side while he repeatedly stabs you with a needle for about 20 minutes, the needles with some electric currents measures your nerve functions. The results of this test came back saying that my super scapular nerve is pinched which limits my arm (rotator cuff) function. The good news is that the nerve is probably not completely severed and we know that there is a problem so we can begin to find a solution. The way that my nerve is pinched is a very uncommon problem and so there is not a specific fix. The team of doctors has been researching the problem trying to find the best possible solution, I will see Dr. Thorson again on Monday to make a plan of action.

My visit with Dr. Clarke was much more promising. He had another CT scan done on my lung and did a general examination. The lung, ribs, and back are continuing to heal well. He said that it is okay to do easy physical activity (keep my heart rate under 150) as long as I am pain free. As far as what activities I can do, I cannot rollerski for a few months because of the high risk of falling which could re-injure my shoulder. Depending on how my shoulder heals I could maybe bike in two months if I am able to safely control the bike with two hands, again I can't crash and re-injure my shoulder. Within the next four weeks I can begin to run on the treadmill as long as I am not pailful anywhere.

Before I crashed my girlfriend Maddie and I had made the plan that after nationals in Truckee, California we were going to take my parents truck camper and go for a road trip along the coast of California and Oregon for a few days before coming home to the Methow where we ski, snowmobile, and adventure the mountains. Obviously this didn't happen, but Maddie still came to visit anyway. We had to scale back our adventures but were still able to have some fun. She chauffeured me around and we explored some places of the Methow she had not yet seen. With the help of my friend Matty (bro Matty not girlfriend Maddie) the three of us took our four wheeler to the top of Washington pass before it was open for highway traffic. I put on a big jacket and enjoyed the smooth ride up the paved road into the mountains. Even though I couldn't really play in them it was nice to at least see the mountains.

Yesterday we sheared my family's sheep, this is a pretty big event and it is planned so that I am home after ski season to help. I couldn't help much this year but was still out in the barn for entertainment if nothing else.

I figured out how to do some air rifle shooting with only one arm

Maddie and I out exploring the Methow 

One the the giant Kodiak Northwest snowblowers at the top of Washington Pass

Some more exploring with Maddie 

Martin the sheep shearer with one of our sheep 

The woolless sheep after being shorn

Resting healing and a visit to the doctors

I have been at home now for a little over a week and things are continuing to get better. Every day I notice little improvements for example standing up and sitting down or how much I can move while sleeping in bed. Things are gradually starting to get easier and less painful. This week I also made the trip to Wenatchee to see some doctors. First I saw Dr. Thorson who is an orthopedist, he looked at my shoulder and all my broken bones in general. He said that things are looking good and continuing to heal and just need more time. Next I saw Dr. Knox who is a lung surgeon, he took some x-rays of my lung said that since my last chest x-ray in Calgary things have been improving. I had an air pocket in my lung that is now gone. A big improvement. I still have some very bad bruising on my lung that will take more time to heal. He said it is almost impossible to tell how long it will take for all of the bruising to go away, anywhere from 3-12 months for complete recovery, but it should heal completely and I will not need any surgery on it. Dr. Knox said that as far as my lung is concerned despite the bruising it is okay to do some light activity and get the lung working some.  An interesting thing Dr. Knox said was that considering the lack of bone damage I have one of the worst bruised lungs he has ever seen. He said that this was probably because I am young and in good shape so all of my bones more or less flexed when I hit the tree and the lung took a lot of the impact.

Since my doctor visits I have met up with Pete Dickinson of Winthrop Physical Therapy and he has helped me to get started riding the sit down stationary bike. I started at 15 minutes and have worked my way up to 30. This has been very beneficial because it has allowed me to get the blood flowing and makes me feel better in general throughout the day. The sit down bike is very nice because I can completely isolate my upper body and it does not hut my shoulder or ribs at all. It is even easier on my broken bones then walking. Other then that I have been reading watching TV and doing some stuff on the computer. I have also had lots of friends and family stopping by to say hi and see how I am doing. Like I said in my last post I am very grateful for how many people are sending positive thoughts and prayers my way, it is very kind and defiantly helps!

The last few days in the hospital were getting tough with  the less the appetizing food, everything could be easily cut with a plastic fork. 

Things got a lot better when mom brought in take out for dinner the last two nights

More broken parts, cuff, magazines, and bindings

My broken stock and cut harness 

My dad rigged up a handle so that I can pull myself up to a sitting position so that I can in and out of bed my myself

Crashing into trees and the hospital

As many of you probably know I had a little incident with a tree about two weeks ago, right before the IBU cups in Canmore. On the official training day before the first race I was doing a prerace loop and going down one of the bigger hills on the course that has a rather sharp corner. The conditions were such that there was about two inches of corn/sugar granular snow on top of ice. As I stepped around the corner I had no trouble making the turn but there was just not enough friction with the ice to hold me on the snow and my skis slipped out from underneath me and I flew off the trail airborne down about 4 meters where the first thing I touched was a tree. My back hit the tree and I fell to the ground. At this point I was knocked unconscious and was awaken by my teammate Ethan who was skiing with me. Once I was awake he immediately went for help. I could not move and realized that I should not even try to move because I had actually hurt myself. Finally the event volunteer medical staff arrived with my mom who was at the event as one of the coaches. I was very glad she was there because she has been an EMT for many years and knew the right things to do. After what seemed like a very long time of laying the in cold snow the ambulance and paramedics arrived, they started an IV, loaded me on a backboard, put me in the tracked 4-wheeler, and drove me to the ambulance. From here I was taken to the Canmore emergency room where they inserted a chest tube into me because I had punctured my lung and had severe internal bleeding. I then received two blood transfusions and was loaded back into the hospital to be transported to the Calgary hospital which is a level 1 trauma center. I was on lots of good pain killers by now and everything was a little foggy but the doctor in Canmore told the ambulance driver to get to Calgary as quickly as possible, we went full lights and sirens. Despite my blurred state from the trauma and pain medicine when the doctor said, get to Calgary as fast as you can, I knew things were very serious.

After arriving in the Calgary hospital ER and getting lots of tests and scans done it was determined that I broke almost all of the ribs on my left side, my left shoulder blade in multiple places, part of my back; not the spine but there are some little bones off the side of the spine which I broke most of and I punctured my left lung. Luckily because of how the breaks were none of my bones were displaced and I did not have to have any surgery.

The doctors in the ER in Calgary were debating if they should put me in the intensive care ward or not but decided to put me into a special care room of the level 1 trauma ward instead, this trauma ward was one step down from the ICU ward but I was still monitored very closely. From here my recovery began. The first day I was in the hospital, the day of the accident, I only sat up in in bed but was not able to get out. The second day with help from the nurses I was able to get out of bed and sit in a chair which was much more comfortable then the bed. Each day I progressed more and more, the two big measures of how I was doing were how far I could walk and how long I could talk with visitors. The first time I started walking all I could handle was going to the bathroom and back, then eventually out to the nurses desk, by day six I was able to do a full lap of the ward which was about 100 meters long. Around this time I was moved out of the special care room and into a general care room but still in the intensive care ward.

After eleven days I was released from the hospital but spent another three days with a family in Calgary before I was allowed to travel home to Washington. Now I am just resting and trying to recover as much as I can at home, but this is still going to be a very slow process. For example this morning my big outing was walking around the driveway for about 10 minutes which was pretty much exhausting.

So many people have been very helpful with their thoughts, prayers, and visits. Having a huge support group has been very nice, thank you to anyone who has helped and continues to help.

Chilling in the Hospital

The hill I crashed on, I went off the trail where the orange fence is, unfortunately it was put up after my crash, I hit one of the trees on the left side.