I was skiing over a weekend, having a great time with my brother as we swooshed down trails of fresh powdered snow at Lake Tahoe. At one point, though, I fell down in a way that twisted my knee badly. I thought I was OK enough to ski down by myself, so after we had lunch, I encouraged my brother to continue skiing on his own.
However, after resting for a little while, I found I could barely stand, much less ski down to the lodge. With help, I was able to get onto the chairlift heading down. Three fellows from Ski Patrol were waiting for me at the bottom of the lift and carried me to the emergency room.
While the two nurses on duty kindly examined and bandaged my knee, they voiced numerous medical opinions. One said I had twisted my knee so badly that I wouldn’t be able to ski again; the other said I should expect to have surgery, and only with extended therapy would I have a hope of even walking normally.
