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Description
     There I was. I had no idea how I got there; all I knew was that everything hurt. The sharp pain in my arms as I tried to lift myself off of my face was enough to make me lose my breath and fall back down. Well that won't work, I thought as I tried to figure a way out of my tangled mess. I tried to get my feet under myself to take the weight off of my arms, but for some reason they weren't moving properly. What in the world… then I realized that my feet were still strapped into my snowboard. It was then that I felt the rush of cold throughout my body as I suddenly realized where I was: at the bottom of a ditch with my face planted firmly against the ice. At that precise moment, a burst of adrenaline surged through my veins and I finally got my arms to cooperate with my brain's demands long enough to unbuckle the bindings of my snowboard. That was when I saw the blood. It wasn't much, but it was enough to drain what was left from my face as I saw the crimson stained snow under my head. "What happened?" I muttered aloud, but it came out as more of an incomprehensible slur, and then I felt the waves of pain as my damaged jaw screamed bloody murder to my nervous system.

     Fight or flight. That's the first thing that came to my mind, and that's what I realized my body was waiting for. The fight or flight response had instinctively kicked in without my realization and without the option of fighting the snow and ice, I did the only thing I could: I left. Considering the injuries I had sustained, this was no easy feat, and it took every fiber of my being just to get on my feet. Finally the ringing in my ears subsided, and I could see some of my friends scrambling to go get help as the others stood gaping at the damage I had inflicted. Before any of the concerned mothers could even slide their shoes on and make it outside, I had already completed the arduous journey up the hill to the street that lay beyond. By that point I was so exhausted that even remaining conscious was a chore.

     As the ambulance pulled up, I became aware of the crowd of people that had gathered around me. Is it just me or am I losing time? I mentally shrugged it off and just focused on what was happening. I could tell that the prognosis didn't look good as I glimpsed the look of dismay on the faces of the veteran paramedics as they hoisted me onto the immobilizing back board. I didn't have any major objections to their actions until one of them put a collar around my neck to stabilize my neck and spine, and unknowingly put an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the laceration on my jaw. I tried to verbalize this concern, but once again, it came out as a half slur, half moan, and no one could understand me. Then, the doors were closed, and we were on our way.

     Sitting in a hallway in Carilion's Roanoke Memorial hospital awaiting a room in the trauma center was probably the most unsettling experience throughout this whole ordeal. Not only was I in the middle of a small hallway blocking the flow of traffic, but I was also seeing the face of every person on staff as they did a quick damage calculation in their heads. Then I was in a hospital room. My parents were there, arguing with a doctor, and I was hooked up to all kinds of machinery and was terrified of what was going to happen. All I knew was that I was going into surgery.

     When I finally came to, the first thing the doctor told me was that I was lucky to be alive. Apparently, if I had turned just a few more degrees in the air after hitting that ramp, I would have at least had a severe concussion, and more than likely would have gone into a coma and hemorrhaged. He said if I had been wearing a helmet and wrist guards, this most likely wouldn't have happened at all.

     It took five weeks of recuperation to get things back in working order, and another week and a half after that to get my jaw unwired. But even after all of that, I still can't resist the temptation of a fresh layer of powdered snow. Of course now, I won't even touch my board without my helmet and wrist guards on.

Description
     There I was. I had no idea how I got there; all I knew was that everything hurt. The sharp pain in my arms as I tried to lift myself off of my face was enough to make me lose my breath and fall back down. Well that won't work, I thought as I tried to figure a way out of my tangled mess. I tried to get my feet under myself to take the weight off of my arms, but for some reason they weren't moving properly. What in the world… then I realized that my feet were still strapped into my snowboard. It was then that I felt the rush of cold throughout my body as I suddenly realized where I was: at the bottom of a ditch with my face planted firmly against the ice. At that precise moment, a burst of adrenaline surged through my veins and I finally got my arms to cooperate with my brain's demands long enough to unbuckle the bindings of my snowboard. That was when I saw the blood. It wasn't much, but it was enough to drain what was left from my face as I saw the crimson stained snow under my head. "What happened?" I muttered aloud, but it came out as more of an incomprehensible slur, and then I felt the waves of pain as my damaged jaw screamed bloody murder to my nervous system.

     Fight or flight. That's the first thing that came to my mind, and that's what I realized my body was waiting for. The fight or flight response had instinctively kicked in without my realization and without the option of fighting the snow and ice, I did the only thing I could: I left. Considering the injuries I had sustained, this was no easy feat, and it took every fiber of my being just to get on my feet. Finally the ringing in my ears subsided, and I could see some of my friends scrambling to go get help as the others stood gaping at the damage I had inflicted. Before any of the concerned mothers could even slide their shoes on and make it outside, I had already completed the arduous journey up the hill to the street that lay beyond. By that point I was so exhausted that even remaining conscious was a chore.

     As the ambulance pulled up, I became aware of the crowd of people that had gathered around me. Is it just me or am I losing time? I mentally shrugged it off and just focused on what was happening. I could tell that the prognosis didn't look good as I glimpsed the look of dismay on the faces of the veteran paramedics as they hoisted me onto the immobilizing back board. I didn't have any major objections to their actions until one of them put a collar around my neck to stabilize my neck and spine, and unknowingly put an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the laceration on my jaw. I tried to verbalize this concern, but once again, it came out as a half slur, half moan, and no one could understand me. Then, the doors were closed, and we were on our way.

     Sitting in a hallway in Carilion's Roanoke Memorial hospital awaiting a room in the trauma center was probably the most unsettling experience throughout this whole ordeal. Not only was I in the middle of a small hallway blocking the flow of traffic, but I was also seeing the face of every person on staff as they did a quick damage calculation in their heads. Then I was in a hospital room. My parents were there, arguing with a doctor, and I was hooked up to all kinds of machinery and was terrified of what was going to happen. All I knew was that I was going into surgery.

     When I finally came to, the first thing the doctor told me was that I was lucky to be alive. Apparently, if I had turned just a few more degrees in the air after hitting that ramp, I would have at least had a severe concussion, and more than likely would have gone into a coma and hemorrhaged. He said if I had been wearing a helmet and wrist guards, this most likely wouldn't have happened at all.

     It took five weeks of recuperation to get things back in working order, and another week and a half after that to get my jaw unwired. But even after all of that, I still can't resist the temptation of a fresh layer of powdered snow. Of course now, I won't even touch my board without my helmet and wrist guards on.