The Rise & Fall

I have been very adventurous this year, choosing to learn how to do new things – golf was my first, snowboarding the next. Having a husband that lives 10min from a ski resort helps!
I found a killer deal on CL and got the board, boots and bindings for $60

So this past weekend Mark and I went to Mission Ridge to try out my new board and help me learn! I had only been once before, when Mark and I were dating….yes…that was 5 yrs ago.
It’s lightly snowing on the mt as we arrive, I’m feeling oh-so-good and psyched about learning, we buy our lift tickets and make our way to the bunny-hill lift.
I totally biff getting off the lift, but after getting back in the groove of how to maneuver on the board and balance myself – I’m feeling good again. We make it to the bottom and try a different lift to a more difficult hill. At the top as I try to get off the lift and on my board, something tragic happens….
The seat begins lifting with me still in it! I jump off trying to get on my board, slipping as my legs go in opposite directions. I hear big cracking noises and people from all over run to me to see if I’m alright.
I feel okay…I’m breathing fine…but I have this burning sensation in both my legs…I look down and don’t see anything wrong…but something feels wrong. They have stopped the lift and ask if I can move – the guy and Mark have to pick me up, but I can put some weight on both legs.
I hobble around the corner just to see a very steep edge of a mountain that I’m supposed to be snowboarding down…gulp…my eyes begin watering from the pain pulsing through my knees, I’ve figured out now that it’s my knees that are hurt – both of them.
I man-up and tell myself there is only one way to get down this mountain, and I begin standing. This whole time Mark is talking with me, telling me I can take as long as I need, but inside my head I’m toughening up for this run. I stand and say “Ok, let’s do this.” Down the mountain the pain is less; as long as I keep my knees from twisting I feel alright. I go the rest of the day boarding and getting better each run, but still babying the knees – knowing I’ll pay for this in the coming days.
My diagnosis: sprain of the MCL or medial collateral ligament
Cause: Overextension of both knees – I’m unable to straighten either leg, and cannot twist my knees without immense pain
Treatment: Rest, ice, walking like an old person
Worth it? Yes – this is what having a body is all about…USING IT!!!