Isn't life great?

So I hurt myself snowboarding a couple of weeks ago. It was kinda bad ... but it could've been much worse. John Martin, Leon and I went to Echo Mountain after work on February 21. Leon and I had never been there, but were interested in checking it out. It's rather unique in that A) it's completely terrain park, B) it's the closest ski area to Denver, and C) it's open until 9pm. It just opened last year, and it's only $20 after 4pm on weekdays, so we went to check it out. I hadn't really done many jumps and stuff this year, so I was kinda eager to get back into that (at the end of last season, I was really getting into jumps). I've never been much of a half-pipe person, and I'm scared to death of rails. Leon's kind of a beginner, so he had a tough time, but still had fun. They're building this snowboardcross course that was pretty fun, but that was only open until the sun went down. So then we went over to the other side that was open.

John and I practiced doing 180s (it sounds cooler than it really was ... it was pretty pathetic actually) while Leon just tried to get used to getting a little air and landing. There were about 5 medium jumps that John and I kept taking along with some other stuff mixed in that we occasionally tried. There were literally 5 people other than us for a while, so the lines were non-existent. Even later, there were maybe 15 people on the mountain. Anyway, so we kept doing this over and over without much incident. We started conservative until we got used to the features. John had a couple of spills trying his skis on a box, but he was okay. Leon was determined to do a rail. For some reason, on one run, John and I both got a ton of air on this one jump, and we completely cleared the landing slope and landed on the flat part and kinda skid to a stop because of the impact. It was a really rough, hard landing, but we were okay ... more just curious how the heck that happened! So a couple of more passes later is when it happened. At this point, I had probably taken 20 jumps that day; the one I hurt myself on probably 4 times. So it's not like I didn't know what I was getting into.

There were 4 of the 5 jumps first. I don't remember if I did all 4 (I did on most passes). Then there was a small box which Leon fell on. For some reason, this time, I decided to try it (I'm not a fan of boxes, but I don't fear them like rails) and went on and off of it with no problem while Leon lay on the side. Then I immediately went on to the last jump which is slightly different from the others in that it's a table-top shape. I think there were some kids waiting to go, so I kinda felt like an ass, but I had the momentum and didn't really feel like stopping. I took the jump, and immediately knew that I had fucked up something because I was horizontal. This happened to me once before, and it's kinda surreal being in the air ... still going up! ... and just wondering how long before you land. This particular time, I was rolled back pretty far with my board in front of me (and maybe even slightly above me), so I was just hoping I'd land on my butt even though that would hurt like all hell. I wasn't so lucky and landed directly on my upper back (with my head curled forward otherwise that may have taken some of the impact). Again, I think I cleared the whole landing zone. There were some kids at the base (no doubt waiting for their friends) who immediately asked if I was okay. I couldn't respond because I had the wind knocked out of me and was kinda wondering when I'd start breathing again. Leon showed up and seemed to think I had a concussion and blacked out based on my response (he said I was moaning). I think I had just started breathing again when he showed up, so that may have been what he witnessed, although there was a chance that I blacked out for a few seconds (we're still not sure). I definitely remember landing and the immediate aftermath. John came and suggested that we move out of the way in case someone takes the jump so I slid down a little and then the ski patrol showed up. Apparently the lift operator had saw the fall and called them. I was just gonna get up after a bit and keep going, but the ski patrol people were a little more concerned. I wasn't really hurting except a little on my back ... considering I had just fell from 15+ feet directly on my back, but it wasn't anything terrible. I had my helmet, luckily, which I never go without.

The ski patrol folk asked me all these questions to make sure I was okay, and I was completely coherent. The thing that concerned them was that Leon thought I had blacked out. And according to them, considering I was wearing a helmet, I must've hit pretty hard to black out (which we're still not sure if I did). So they strapped me to a backboard and pulled me up to the lodge with a snowcat. I have to say that my back hurt more being on that board than when I just sitting there which seemed counterproductive. They were being very cautious with everything and made sure I had feeling in my extremities. I mentioned that my leg was a little tingly, as if it were falling asleep. I wanted to just leave, but they eventually convinced me to take an ambulance to the hospital just in case. They tried to take my blood and set me up with an IV while we waited for the ambulance, but I was dehydrated, so the IV didn't work, and the blood came really slow. Leon and John helped out in any way they could. They were awesome! We just talked and stuff while we waited. I also apologized to them for messing up the night to which of course they said not to worry about it. The ski patrol guys mentioned how a guy fell from like 40 feet earlier and had to get helicoptered to the hospital. Funny thing is that we saw that helicopter as we got to the park!

They took all my gear and followed the ambulance to the hospital in Lakewood. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride there, I have to say. I tried not to complain because I knew it was all precautionary, but not only was I still on that backboard, but my leg was falling asleep, and my head was hitting against the board which slowly became pretty painful. Ironic that my head and back were in more pain on the board than off of it since those were the areas of concern. It was rather weird having no idea where we were en route, and I tried to guess where we were based on the turns. I couldn't wait to get to the hospital so I could get off that damn board! I tried going to sleep but couldn't because of the discomfort. I talked with the ambulance guy for a bit, to take my mind off the discomfort. He said that they'd probably do some x-rays and then get me off the board. He was a pretty cool guy. Apparently, he used to ski patrol at Loveland. He later told me and the hospital crew some numbers on how many patrons Echo Mountain has had and how many ambulance calls they've had. I don't recall the percentage, but it was pretty high. No wonder they make you sign a waiver when you get there!

Finally at the hospital, I have to answer more of the same questions. They do some x-rays, and tell me I need to wait to get CT scans before I can get off the board. I'm parched at this point, but they tell me I can't have any water because of the CT scans. After some wait, they take me for my scans which were even more uncomfortable. I've had a CT scan before, and it's a pretty simple process. But this time, they made me raise my arms over my head which was not fun while in that little tube. And having an IV and all this other stuff hooked up to me made it a little scary to try to raise my arms. After that ordeal, I'm back in the ER, and they still will not give me water. At this point, I'm also getting very hungry since it's like 10 or 11pm, and I hadn't had dinner. And the back board is getting very old. I've never been that uncomfortable in my life. I was convinced that it was the doctor's goal to make this the most uncomfortable experience ever. I literally could not stop fidgeting. I've also never been that thirsty in my life. I finally see Leon and John when they come in. It was nice having some company as I literally lay there. But at the same time, I felt bad for them having to see me so fidgety. I bet that was quite uncomfortable for them to see, and I told them they could leave if they wanted to. After asking Leon to call a nurse because I'm dying of thirst, we finally find out that they don't want to give me any until they get the results from the CT to make sure I don't need surgery. Wonderful. Again, I realize they're just doing their job, so I try not to complain. Finally, they tell me they can wet my lips with a sponge, so they do that which was at least a little bit of a relief.

I think it's around 1am that they finally get the results. That's the problem with being in the ER but not being in that bad of shape; you're a low priority. So a doctor tells me I have a compression fracture in my T3 vertebra, and I won't need surgery. He says a spine specialist will come and give me more details. They take me off the backboard finally, and I was so relieved. I'd guess that my accident happened around 7:30pm, and it was after 1am before I got off of it. They give me some painkillers through the IV even though I'm not really in pain, and I remind them that I'm parched. They bring me a cup of ice to which I ask why they can't give me water now! The guy tells me, "Because if you drink water right now, I guarantee you'll throw up." He raises up the back of the bed so I can finally sit up, and I reply that I don't feel too good even without the water. The painkillers must not have agreed with me because I felt nauseous. And considering I was so thirsty and hungry, I knew that this was not going to be fun. He gave me a bucket and sure enough, I dry heaved for a bit, but then I was fine. He went to get some medicine for the nausea, but by then I was fine.

So a "physician's assistant" from the spine specialist's office comes about an hour later and explains the injury in more detail. It sounds pretty bad to me, but he says that he's not worried about the fracture, and that it will heal fine. He's more concerned about a disc moving and contacting the spinal cord. He says to come back in a week and to wear a brace in the meantime and says I can go home if I want to ... which at this point sounds wonderful. Then they tell me that they don't have the brace that I need so that'll be another hour or hour and a half. Hooray. I tell John to go home, and thank both of them for staying with me for this long (it was a work night after all). Leon stays because he did have my car. We're all starving, so Leon goes to the cafeteria to get some food. I stay in the room eating my ice and listening to the other patients coming into the ER, several of which were causing scenes. I was embarrassed by association with them. A nurse comes by every now and then to see if I'm okay (they seemed overly eager to give me pain meds ... one guy said, "You're in the ER; there's no reason to be in pain.") I assured him that I was okay, but asked him to shut the door as my fellow ER-mates were kinda getting to me. I also asked if they could remove my IV and pressure bands so that I could get the heck out of there once the guy came with the brace, but they said they couldn't in case he didn't show up, and I needed to stay the night. Yay, these guys really cover their bases. I also talk to one of the nurses/doctors and tell him that I appreciate everything they did even though I may have been complaining. He says it's unfortunate when you're in the ER but are generally okay because everything goes slower. I call up Shelan because at some point a doctor told me to make sure I'm not alone tonight since there was the chance of a head injury ... in case I go unconscious. So I wake him up and tell him that I'll probably crash on his couch, though I'm not sure how he's to tell if I'm unconscious. I tell him I'll be there around 2am; I don't get there till 3:30. Leon comes back eventually with a dry sandwich for him and a banana for me which I didn't eat.

We're both falling asleep when the brace guy finally comes. He smells of smoke. He gets me fitted with the brace and explains to me everything I need to know about it. How to remove it, how to wash it, replacement pads ... oh yea, this is one serious brace. I ask him what the point of it is, and he says it's to prevent me from turning my head. This guy is no doctor, and I'm aware of it, but at this point this is all I have to go off of. So for the next week, I don't turn my head. I get my IVs and stuff out, and he leaves. I grab my stuff so I can leave, and the ER guys have to do some paperwork before I leave. They give me a prescription for Percocet (which I never filled), and I ask them a few more questions. Do I need to wear it to sleep? Yes. He says to have sponge baths which I ignore because I recall someone previously saying I could take it off to bathe. It was very weird not having someone to ask questions to, because these were just ER guys. They didn't know and just needed to make sure I was okay. The specialist guy is long gone. So here it is, around 2:30am, and we finally go. They never did give me water.

We get back to town around 3am, and Leon goes to pick up his car as I assure him, I'll be okay to drive the 3 miles to my house. With it being so late, luckily no one's on the road so I make it home just fine. I grab a sleeping bag, leave a message with my boss to tell him I won't be in and crash on Shelan's floor. More to come ...