While skiing in Colorado this weekend (2-25-12), Chad had an awful skiing accident and ended up with a broken clavicle. Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet or this could have been cataclysmically worse.
Chad Broke His Clavicle Skiing
It all started when he woke up and caught the first chair and was the first to attack this blue, groomed “corduroy” run…
Chad’s a pretty good skier. In fact I’d say he’s well above intermediate, if not, expert. But, even the best of us can underestimate how dangerous these situations can be. Especially when he’s used to double black diamond runs. After spending more time on the lift, than the mountain, he ended up with a serious injury.
This shows his top speed (almost 60 mph!) and other stats of the day:
After his brutal 60 mph wipe-out and sliding about 3 football fields away from his skis, he got up, managed to get his skis back on and finished the run. It was only when his hand went numb he knew something was wrong.
He reached into his shirt and felt the bone sticking out on his right shoulder. He skied over to one of the ski officials and requested medical help. He rode the sled straight into the ER at the base of the mountain.
They gave him a prescription for some serious pain killers and told him to fly back to Chicago for surgery. Because he flies stand-by, this was an incredibly stressful event.
But he miraculously caught the flight from Vail to Denver and connected in Denver to Chicago. This accident happened around 8:40 am Saturday and he was home around 11 pm that night.
Day One: He’s lucky the bone didn’t puncture the skin; but it sure came close…
Day Two: Getting colorful
Day Three: Entire right side and hand swollen
Pretty gnarly looking…
After seeing three different specialists, he’s decided to have surgery tomorrow morning (3-1-12). He is going to the University of Chicago where they will put a plate in place to hold the 5 broken pieces of his clavicle together.
This was not his only option, but seems like the best way to go for him. He wears a heavy backpack daily for work (HVAC Technician) and hopes to be able to do so again without discomfort.
Oh, and one more thing… Post Op Doctor’s Orders: No Showering for 21 days!
Yowza!
If anyone has any experience with this type of injury, please share! Meanwhile, I will keep you all posted.
Sharon
Sunday 4th of March 2012
Praying for Chad!
Glenda Cates
Saturday 3rd of March 2012
I have no experiences with this other than to say I will be Praying for him.
chad stanek
Friday 2nd of March 2012
Surgery was successful! Now to wait 6 weeks. Thanks everyone
Jan Messali
Thursday 1st of March 2012
Poor guy... it look so painful. My sister had a similarly broken clavicle after being thrown from her horse. It wasn't repaired right away because she had a major brain bleed and several other major injuries which had to be the first priority for treatment while she was in ICU. The clavicle healed itself but she still has a knot between her shoulder and neck and it still hurts pretty often, even though this was a few years ago.
I would think the surgery would allow the bones to heal in a better way so he won't have so much pain later. I hope everything goes well. Best wishes! :)
Shannon
Wednesday 29th of February 2012
Thank you so much to both of you, first of all, for sharing this with us. That is a very serious break! And having no way to cast the break in an all encompassing manner this sounds like the strongest solution and speediest recovery. My thoughts will be with you!! And 21 days of no shower - boo!! But on the flip side.... 21 days of sponge baths - maybe yay!!