Scheisse....

On Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, I went skiing after work as I often do. It was my 33rd, and last, trip to the slopes this season. On a good note, I would say I got my money's worth for my 510 euro season ski pass, about 15.50 euros per time. Though I had imagined I would have gone a lot more. The weather was perfect and there was a ton of powder, over 30 cm from the day before. I actually had to shovel snow around the entire hotel the day before. It took over 4 hours and I was exhausted. I also went running two days before that, for the first time in about 6 months. I ran for an hour on a hilly, snow-covered trail and felt really good, but my legs were very sore for three straight days. Which is why I waited until Wednesday to ski.

I was on the backside of one of the main mountains, in an off-piste area with some trees. It wasn't a dangerous place, and there are always lots of skiiers over there. My second time through, I hit a jump that I had found on my first run. It landed in a creek bed, but there was tons of snow, especially with that huge layer of powder on top. I took this jump a bit faster than the first time, and landed further away, but I never sensed any problem and fully expected to ski right on through when I landed. But for some reason, my skis sunk deep in the powder and just stuck there. I, of course, did not stick there. I was thrown forward and popped out of one ski. I somersaulted a few times and felt a horrible pain. When I stopped, I was stuck pretty deep in the powder. I slowly pulled my legs and arms out, but it was pretty painful. I spent about 15 minutes trying to stand up, but I quickly realized there was something wrong with my left leg. I couldn't lift it or put any weight on it whatsoever. I couldn't turn my body much either, as it caused excruciating pain.

I realized I wasn't going to be able to get off the mountain on my own. A couple skiiers came by and called the Ski Patrol for me. The Ski Patrol dude wanted to call in a helicopter, but I knew that would be insanely expensive (he said 2-3000 euros), so I told him no, let's get a ski-doo or something. An hour later, I was strapped in and on my way down the mountain, into an ambulance, and off to the ER in St. Johann, a town close to Kirchberg and Kitzbuehel. At this point, I was thinking I tore a muscle or something. Though the Ski Patrol guy and the EMT in the ambulance seemed to think it was a broken bone. I had an X-ray within 5 minutes of getting to the hospital. 5 minutes after that, a doctor came and told me I had broken my left hip. He said while it was a fracture, I didn't completely break it and would therefore not need surgery. They did a CT scan not long after that, then I spoke to another doctor. He told me that if I moved much, I could seriously damage my hip. Therefore I needed to stay in bed. No problem, I thought, just put me in a wheelchair and take me back to the hotel. I will stay in bed all day. Then he told me what he meant was that I would have to stay in the hospital for a week!

So here I am, still in the hospital. Today is day 4 and I am hoping they let me go ASAP. My first day here was pretty miserable. I could not move either of my legs even one inch without serious pain. The doctors wanted to shoot me up with pain killers right when I arrived, but as I have a deep-seated psychological aversion to needles, I declined. They have me on some pills, but the pain is not too bad anyway, as long as I don't move. It was really frustrating not being able to turn at all, so I didn't get a lot of sleep the first night. My condition has been steadily improving since that first day. I am now able to move my left leg on its own. I can slowly turn onto my right side. I can walk around a bit with crutches. I still can't put weight on my left leg, though the fact that I can now lift it up and down is promising. Yesterday was my first day of physical therapy, which went fine.

The latest news, which I heard this morning, is that next week I will get another X-ray, as early as Tuesday. If it looks OK, they will let me leave on crutches. I will have to come back a week later and get another X-ray to make sure I am healing properly. I should expect to be on crutches for about 6 weeks.

Ralf, my boss, came on Thursday morning to bring me some things from my room, including my netbook. So I have plenty of movies to watch and the internet as well. There are 3 other people in my room, all older Austrian guys with various ailments. None of whom speak much English, but I am getting to practice a bit of German. Though mainly with the nurses and doctors, as my roommates are not very social. With 4 people in my room, there is a pretty constant stream of nurses, doctors, friends, and family in my room. Which keeps me from getting too bored.

As far as work is concerned, I only had 2 more days left anyway. So I am not worried about not making that money. I can still stay in my room at the hotel until April 1st. Ralf will come pick me up whenever they let me leave the hospital, then hopefully take me back here for that last X-ray. As far as my trip goes, I am optimistic that this incident won't create any serious setbacks. I still intend to go to Germany and hang out with Maren and her family, then leave on the 17th for Istanbul. I might still be on crutches at that point, but should be healed well enough to move. My concern is carrying a big backpack around. So I am planning on just taking it day by day to see how I feel. I might need to find alternative transportation to Germany on April 1st as well. Perhaps I will put my skis and pack in the mail.

As far as costs/insurance, it's not looking good. I have very basic travel insurance, which I have contacted, but it is incredibly limited. Yes, Austria has universal healthcare like the rest of Europe. But it is unclear to me right now if that will benefit me in any way. I just read a story on the internet about some American without health insurance in Italy who had an accident, spent 2 weeks in the hospital, and walked away without so much as a bill. It sounds like I won't be so lucky, however, from what the hospital administrator has told me.

So, the good news is that hopefully my future travel plans won't be affected too much. I am recovering fairly quickly. I'm also fortunate this happened at the end of the season when I was just about done with work and skiing anyway. Though it's a bit depressing that there is still snow and the last 3 days have been sunny and very warm. I am going to make sure I heal properly before leaving the hospital, but I really hope that happens soon. I was not injured in any way besides my hip, so as soon as I am able to walk with crutches, navigate stairs, take a shower on my own, etc., I expect them to let me leave. (As of yesterday, I no longer have to pee in a plastic bottle or give myself a sponge bath in bed!)

I'll update this blog in a couple days, hopefully with news that I am about to leave the hospital!