I was up at bretton woods during feburary break, and my second day of riding (yes i snowboard but ski also) i over rotated a spin, landing face forward and slamming down, smashing my spleen and ribs. I felt the wind knocked out of me which kept me on the ground for 2 minutes. I got up finally and snowboarded down, but i started to notice when i breathed in, i started to feel a pinch. i went into the lodge and tried to calm myself down, but it was getting bad fast. i called my mom and took a shuttle back to the hotel. at this time i was almost in tears from the intense internal bleeding. i couldnt take full breaths anymore, and the pain was horrible. spent 4 hours in the ER until the doctor told me i had a case 2 lasserated spleen. then she told me i could have to get surgery and i couldnt play lacrosse. thats when i broke down and started to get pissed. well, after 3 nights in the hospital, they let me go home, no instructions for bed rest. apparently that would have been a good choice. 6 days later, i came home from school, and i felt a crack. suddenly i felt the same pains, same pain when breathing pain. i went into a panic. i hoped it would go away, but it didn't. it got worse and worse to where i couldn't really stand. my mom was picking me up to go to the hospital. my face was all white, my lips too. i got confused with what was happening due to blood loss. then when i went outside to get in the car my head fell to the side and i started walking sideways, almost passing out. i had to drink 3 waters to stay conscious. at the hospital, i recieved 2 blood transfusions in the ER, and after a CT scan, i was told i had a case 4 spleen laceration. i was too in shock and doped on morphine to know what was going on at the time, but i remember. trying to avoid surgery, they put me in the OR for a spleen embolizaition procedure, where they shoot glue and shit into the spleen to stop the bleeding. couldnt eat for 6 days, then got out 7 days after that. that worked for a week i was home, then the pain came back. CT scan showed fluid (blood) cists around and in my spleen, enlarging it. this hospital visit i spent 8 days. still trying to avoid surgery, they put a tube in me and tried to drain the blood from my spleen cist. i thought i was back to normal when i was home 8 days later. nope. pain came back and i was pissed off. went in for an ultra sound and they found MORE fluids than the last time. my same doctor agreed with me to have the spleen removed in surgery the next morning. i was relieved to say the least. little did i know how painful it would all be. i thought they would just cut me open and take it out. well the next morning, they did, but i woke up that night with a tube going into my nost to my stomach, a tube stiched up in my hip, and a tube in my .... yeah that was the most painful part. if i moved a tiny bit, the cathider would sting like hell. 7 days later i started getting depressed. i just wanted to leave. the next day was my birthday. that was one for the books. then they took the tubes out and i started drinking and eating a tiny bit and 11 days after surgery i was home on my couch. you cant understand the pain it was until you went through it. worst experience of my life.. got hurt 2/19/13 and got surgery 4/10/13. now im 2 weeks home and getting better every day, and ill be back on the slopes next year, this time more careful
