Lindsey Vonn lastly leaves hospital after Winter Olympics horror crash and divulges how physician ‘saved her leg’ from amputation

Lindsey Vonn has lastly left hospital after her horrific leg break however the American snowboarding nice has a really lengthy highway to restoration forward of her.

In a prolonged put up to Instagram on Monday morning, the 41-year-old revealed the devastating extent of her accidents and that medical doctors saved her from dropping her leg after crashing on the Winter Olympics in Italy.

Vonn stated she is in a wheelchair and will probably be for the foreseeable future. She fought again tears at occasions in a video from her residence in Colorado the place she defined how a lot ache she has already needed to overcome.

‘I had a posh tibia fracture, I additionally fractured my fibia head and the rationale it was so complicated was as a result of I had compartment syndrome,’ Vonn defined. ‘Compartment syndrome is when you’ve gotten a lot trauma to at least one space that there’s an excessive amount of blood and it will get caught. It principally crushes all the things – muscular tissues, nerves, tendons, it dies.

‘Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg from being amputated. He did what known as a fasciotomy, he lower open either side of my leg and let it breathe and he saved me. 

‘It should take round a yr for all the bones to heal after which I’ll determine if I need to take out all of the steel or not, after which return into surgical procedure and at last repair my ACL. Life is life, we have now to take the punches as they arrive.’ 

Vonn tore her ACL in a crash earlier than the Winter Olympics, one thing she stated was really a superb factor as a result of if that hadn’t occurred, Dr Hackett wouldn’t have been readily available to assist her.

‘If I hadn’t torn my ACL, which I might have completed anyhow on this crash, Physician Tom Hackett would not have been there,’ Vonn stated. ‘He would not have been capable of save my leg.

‘He saved my leg from being amputated. I at all times discuss all the things taking place for a purpose… I really feel very fortunate and grateful for him, for this six-hour surgical procedure.’

Vonn revealed she additionally broke her ankle within the crash and that she wanted an important blood transfusion after considered one of her a number of surgical procedures to fight low haemoglobin.

‘I used to be within the hospital a bit longer than I hoped as a result of I had very low haemogloin from the blood loss from all of the surgical procedures,’ Vonn added. ‘I used to be actually struggling, the ache was a bit bit uncontrolled and I needed to have a blood transfusion.

‘That helped me so much and I turned the nook and now I’m out. I’m in a wheelchar proper now, I’m very a lot motionless and I will probably be in a wheelchair for some time as a result of I additionally broke my proper ankle.

‘I hope I might be on crutches in a bit bit however we’ll see.’ 

Vonn crashed throughout the girls’s downhill remaining on February 8 and was airlifted to hospital by helicopter.

Lindsey Vonn has undergone 5 surgical procedures since hurting her leg on the Winter Olympics

Vonn added as a caption to her video: ‘I hope I defined my damage effectively sufficient. I’m not a physician so if I don’t clarify one thing completely please forgive me. 

‘When the damage occurred the state of affairs was fairly difficult in some ways however ultimately, the state of affairs was introduced again into management. Once more, thanks Dr Tom Hackett.

‘Will probably be a protracted highway however I’ll get there. At the very least I’m out of the hospital. Love you all.’ 

Final week, Vonn shared an astonishing X-ray exhibiting dozens of steel pins positioned inside her leg to carry it collectively. 

‘I’m bionic for actual now,’ she joked. 

Vonn’s race-torn physique already contained titanium implants after she underwent a reconstruction in her proper knee again in 2024. 

She launched her second profession comeback shortly after the reconstruction, ending a five-year retirement, which reaped its reward within the type of victory on the 2025-2026 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in December. 

The 41-year-old shared an X-ray of her surgically-repaired leg to social media on Friday 

Medical crews arrived to are likely to Vonn after she remained down on the piste 

Vonn appeared so as to add to that win with a gold on the Winter Olympics however catastrophe struck only one week earlier than the Video games started when she tore her ACL in a crash at Crans-Montana in Switzerland. 

Regardless of clear medical issues, Vonn tried to compete on the torn ligament on the Video games however crashed simply 13 seconds into her downhill remaining run. 

She misplaced management over the opening traverse after chopping the road too tight and clipping the gate and was spun round within the air.

Vonn was heard screaming after the crash as she was surrounded by medical personnel earlier than she was strapped to a gurney and flown away.

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