 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi All,
This could be a long old post so will keep it as short as i can.
Went skiing in Jan 2016 and suffered a major trauma to my femur warming up after lunch on a blue piste ... Shattered my right femur into about 8 pieces and almost died in the process. Flown to hospital for a weeks stay after an 11 hour task to put my leg back to normal..... They kind of did do that but made it 2 inches longer too. Since then, I've had 4 rounds of major surgery to break, reset, remove and replace the metal in there and i think were are about 95% there. Ive no wish to see intensive care again or endure the pain of waking up after having your femur sawn in to again so i think its time to say I'm as fixed as i am ever going to be.
I don't remember what happened to me to get this broken leg-thats apparently quite common in severe traumas. What i do know is that i now have one weaker leg than the other. My break was towards the top of my femur but i do get residual knee pain. My trauma professor feels that its my knee that took the hit and that exploded my femur.
Now comes what some think is the stupid part. I am off to Chamonix in December with the family. They are all going skiing and to be frank- i don't want to miss out. I also need to see what im like again on the snow and if i can mentally handle it. I forgot to say that the whole 5 rounds of major surgery gifted me Post Traumatic Stress Disorder! Skiing stopped my life for a while and it was worse by the fact that i cant remember what happened so its not something i can easily say i can put right. However, i was skiing red pistes on my own before this and have done the sport for years previously so its either a freak accident or an equipment problem i think. I didn't know that at the time of the accident, i had fallen onto what in summer is the road on that mountain and it only had a few inches of snow on it. My final landing place was on a huge rock which cant have helped either. There are too many variables to say what definitively happened and no webcams to show either.
Ive discussed this with my professor. He said he thinks its a very good idea as a way to put trust in my leg and to banish some of those mental demons. My physiotherapist isn't so enthusiastic though. He talked about increasing confidence by using a brace of some kind. One that would help around the hip area. Ive seen lots of knee type stuff but no kind of hip/pelvis support. Im going to physio 3/4 times a week and am getting more and more active. I can climb mountains now...... just need to know if i can slide down them without killing myself!
Do you know if there is anything out there?
Any help advice or pointers is hugely appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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wonder if Ski Mojo could help?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I watched their video on Youtube earlier today and see that it can give a 30% strength increase. Im not sure about upper leg support though but you're thinking in the right way because it does strap on further up the leg than most. Im going to physio this afternoon and will ask him why its got to be upper leg support . Ive lost strength in the side of my leg where its been cut about 40cm in length from my ar*e to my knee. that constant going in and out has created a visible muscle wastage comparatively to my left leg.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Robert821, If your surgeon has said it's OK to ski, then i'd go for it.
Ski Mojo is a good suggestion. I used one for the first time last season for 4 weeks on snow - it certainly helps take some of the strain. I have typical knee aches for my age and some minor hip issues on the right side.
I'm not sure what you will need to do with regards to the leg shortening (I presume its 4cm and not 40!). However, I would recommend you try a ski mojo. I believe that they have users available at all the UK fridges that will let you try out the Ski Mojo on the slope. I'm very near to XScape at Castleford and would gladly let you try mine if you cannot get hold of the "official" ski mojo people.
Hope all works out for you 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Robert821, so I did similar, shattered it in March 93, went skiing for 2 days in Scotland in May 94 and it was fine. I did 1.5 days mainly to see if I could mentally ski! I then skied weekly after that and passed some instructor exams in 2011 and 2014.
My leg was only 1 or 2 cms shorter after what sounds like easier surgery than you had. You could get specific boots built up to negate the longer leg. I'd also be doing some cycling/running, squats, weight training etc under advise from the physio.
It definitely preys on your mind, I did mine in a tuck, it took me many years to build speed back up and tuck again!
Happy to chat via phone if that helps you at all??
Changed pics to links as too big!
https://greghilton.co.uk/oldsite/jpegs/broken.jpg
https://greghilton.co.uk/oldsite/jpegs/broken%20femur.jpg
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Mon 4-11-19 17:44; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Some reassurance! Thank you! I do the cuff blood flow training in physio at the moment. I’m also trialling one or two other things too. I do the blood flow on a Monday, then squats at around 65-70kg on a Tuesday followed by balance work. On a thursday i do a lot of banded work. In between those appointments I do as much walking as I can but running is hard work. I’m building that up in physio. I’ve been swimming and have also done a lot of spin classes- virtual ones.
I spoke to my physio today and he recommended I visit a ski slope in this country to try it out with a 1-1 lesson. Thing is, that will feel like I’m repeating what happened in 2016! As that’s what I did then to refresh and it may mentally spook me and put me off.
Ski mojo may be something I can use but my intention at the moment is to close the ski chapter by doing this in December. It really feels like it’s unfinished business and bothers me. One day ski is something like that 100 with all the gear and a pass. The ski mojo is 500. Im not one to scrimp on these type of things but I’m not sure if it would be right for me.
I’m not trying to say goodbye to skiing. Just closing a chapter. It may ignite a passion to do more and get back out there but I need to be realistic in that I have little confidence and am so scared that while I think it’s the right thing to be doing, I may end up coming away worse off for it. However unless I try, I won’t know and if I don’t try, I’ll punish myself for not doing so.
The mad thing is that I’m not bothered about damaging myself- I was full of guilt when I had to make the phonecall home. When a loved one breaks out crying with worry because they can’t get to you, it stays with you and haunts you. It’s unndescribable the guilt part. This time though, my family are all coming along- all of them! So it feels like a golden opportunity.
Argh!!!!!
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I can't help with the physical side but do pay attention to the mental side, that can also be very difficult to get over.
My story was a bad crash knocking me out for several minutes. I remember nothing of the crash only setting off on that run. I was then in and out of consciousness while the pisteurs arrived. I continued to drift in and out during the whole journey, blood wagon down the mountain, helicopter back to resort and ambulance to hospital fully coming round a couple of hours later. In the end the damage was limited to a strained leg muscle and a bit of frostbite where the pisteurs had left some skin exposed.
I thought I had got away with it. During the next year friends would question my sanity for wanting to go skiing again, I just replied, fully believing it, "I can't remember a thing so I have nothing to be afraid of, it wont be a problem."
How wrong I was. Everything was fine going, decided to start with a very easy blue, went up the drag, shuffled across to where the slope started and froze, I couldn't move, I stood there rooted to the spot, shaking and nearly in tears. All that conscious bravado completely destroyed by my subconscious fear. After about 20 minutes of my wife gently talking to me I made a very slow inelegant descent stopping on the corners. Gradually rebuilt my confidence over the week. Had a couple of reoccurrences of freezing over the next couple of years.
Good luck with your recovery and have a great holiday.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If you can explain the situation to your local indoor slope, they may let you use their beginner area under your own steam rather than in a lesson situation. That way you can build your confidence at your own pace, dealing with the psychological as well as the physical in tandem. I certainly did that after an earlier resurfacing and was pleasantly surprised about how much I was prepared and able to do first time out, although in my case the repair to the hip was not as a result of trauma. The other thing we all need to get our heads around after injury is that in skiing sooner or later we are going to fall. However, (at least in my case) getting that first fall out of the way, whenever it comes, and realising you are still in one piece can be very liberating. I appreciate what you say about putting loved ones through the trauma second hand ( as I am currently doing following a recent injury) can give you a sense of duty and guilt. On the other hand holding back and looking over your shoulder at what might have been , probably does not make for the best person to be with. We all want the best for our loved ones that”s why we love them.
Good luck.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Can't offer any direct advice, @Robert821, but I hope you find something that works for you. I have skied for years, had an untraumatic (albeit painful) collision which resulted in a broken pelvis which mended very easily. Even so, I was apprehensive getting back on the slopes, 8 weeks later. Went with good friends on a very easy piste we knew well but found it was the people around which freaked me out a bit. Crossed the road to a deserted, very easy, black piste and had no problems. I have now - years later - been diagnosed with heart failure. Am feeling OK - taking masses of pills - and planning to do a Snowheads bash in January. I am apprehensive about how well I'll cope with the cold, as well as all the heavy gear and am having a one-to-one private lesson at Hemel, with rob@rar, who I've skied with before, and have a lot of faith in, to see how I get on. After that I'll make a final decision whether to go on the trip or not. I think I'll be OK - I am not unduly worried about it - but neither am I gung-ho and determined to "make a go of it at all costs". I'll give it a good try, then make up my mind and if I decide that it wouldn't be wise to do the ski trip I'll drop out. I hope I can go - it'll be a great trip, but fortunately, and luckily for me, I don't feel that I have any big psychological investment in the outcome, on way or the other. It's tricky, after any injury (and yours was massive, mine was trivial) or diagnosis of ill-health, to know how to find the right balance between just pig-headedly sticking head in the sand and being determined to ignore it, or just giving up, and backing off anything at all challenging. I'm not afraid of another simple fracture on the slopes  but I would be very bothered about a cardiac-related incident for which, of course, I would not be insured. Just hope we're still in the EU and I have my EHIC cover! I think I'll find the right way ahead for myself, and I hope you do too. Keep in touch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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thank you all for your replies. Im trying not to be excited for a positive result. so much so im looking at the holiday not as a ski one but a winter one. That way, im not putting any pressure on myself. i will continue to get as strong as i can and if i feel comfortable when i am there then i will look for the easiest pistes to begin. Ive scouted the piste map of les houches where we are all staying and it looks ok. Ive even done the google street map imaging of some of the pistes. its nice to see they are wide to give me plenty of space. I se o the webcams that the snow as started falling. We are going early ( christmas) and i am managing the expectations with the family that there may not be enough snow for thumbnut i hope there is.
Thanks again
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I thought I’d update you all as I’m just about to leave Chamonix. The Hardest bit of the week was putting my feet into the boot because last time my foot was in one, it was being pulled off my leg and I was in the most pain of my life!
I Started on some greens and even bottled it on some descents choosing really easy. Then something just clicked. Started on blues and ended up on red. First day I had the ski mojo but i didn’t really get on with it so braved the second day without ski mojo or straps and i was able to ski much more naturally. The ski mojo has its place I’m sure but it wasn’t for me.
I even managed a few jumps and slalom. Fell off one jump but that was the only fall of the week and I’m happy with that!
It looks like I’ve returned to the slopes- we are planning our next trip already!
Thanks all!
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You know it makes sense.
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@Robert821, Excellent news!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@Robert821, that's great!
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Robert821, That's really good news
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Fantastic!
And congratulations for overcoming all those difficulties. Well done.
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