Lindsey Vonn has revealed new details about the immediate aftermath of her devastating crash at the Winter Olympics, which left doctors battling to prevent her leg from being amputated. In the lead-up to the Games in Milan-Cortina, Vonn suffered her first crash, resulting in a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Despite the injury, the 41-year-old chose to carry on racing, ultimately experiencing another crash during the games, which ended up fracturing her leg and causing extensive damage.

Now back in the United States, Vonn has shared her ordeal and what she was experiencing as doctors worked tirelessly to save her leg and to guarantee she would walk again. Her latest revelations follow the Olympic icon’s announcement of a devastating family update. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Olympic icon described the moments directly after her harrowing crash, which fractured her leg.

As she was being examined, the pain relief she was given worked temporarily before the full severity of the pain came flooding back.

“Halfway through, I started sweating,” Vonn recounted as she was in a CT scan. “I was just in such extreme pain. I screamed at the top of my lungs: ‘Get me out.’ It just wouldn’t dissipate. It wouldn’t let up. It’s seared into my brain.”

After being moved to another hospital, it was established that Vonn was suffering from compartment syndrome, a condition where the pressure on her leg had increased to such an extent that it began to limit blood flow and cause nerve damage.

She subsequently underwent a fasciotomy, a surgical procedure that cuts into the connective tissue surrounding the muscles to alleviate the pressure.

In total, it required four surgeries for doctors and medical staff to stabilise and close up her leg following her crash.

Vonn revealed that she was in constant pain, regardless of medication, frequently disturbed by nurses, and essentially traumatised by the fact that she nearly lost her leg.

“It took everything I had for it to not drive me insane,” she confessed.

Reflecting on what she claimed was her final run, Vonn added: “It’s so f***** up. I really feel like that was a horrible last run to end my career on. I only made it 13 seconds. But they were a really good 13 seconds.”

For now, it remains uncertain where Vonn will go from here as she continues to recover from her terrifying crash that almost resulted in her leg being amputated, undergoing countless hours of physical therapy and spending time in a hyperbaric chamber while also finding time to exercise.

As for a return to skiing, she is not ruling out a potential comeback if circumstances align correctly.

However, considering where she needs to be for that to happen, it could be a long time before Vonn can compete in any capacity again.

“I don’t like to close the door on anything, because you just never know what’s going to happen,” she continued.

“I have no idea what my life will be like in two years or three years or four years. I could have two kids by then. I could have no kids and want to race again. I could live in Europe. I could be doing anything.”

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