Injury Status- The mental struggles of being hurt

As winter comes into full swing and my social media feeds fill with pictures and results from races around the globe, I begin to wonder how the little asterisk on my FIS profile, denoting that I am on injury status will come into play in the months to come. It has been about 10 months since I've heard the noise of a heel piece latching onto the cold plastic of a ski boot. During this time I have faced some of the biggest challenges in my young career.

 

On April 3rd 2014 I crashed on a free run in Valmalenco, Italy warming up for the Junior World Championships. I suffered severe fractures to my left tibia and fibula and spent two weeks in a hospital in St. Moritz. After 4 surgeries and months of physical therapy I have a better understanding of how major injuries affect the mental states of athletes.

 

Like many people who have suffered major injuries I started out the rehab process very optimistic and charged full steam ahead with the attitude that everything a happens for a reason and this will make me stronger in the long run. However, after a few months of very little progress it began to feel as if I was just going through the motions with very little effort and enthusiasm. People told me that this is normal and I just have to fight through the depression and boredom of a less active lifestyle. This was a painful realization and I only found comfort in hearing the stories of various other comebacks. Knowing that as bad as my injury is, people have returned from much worse.

 

I started attending school for the first time in about a year and a half and completed my first semester of college in mid December. School kept me busy this fall and it was a major distraction from the everyday grind of being hurt. Although my injury is always with me and juggling my rehab and studies was exhausting, it provided an outlet that allowed me to focus on a new subject. School also made me realize how much I missed skiing. It motivated me to work harder in the gym and really take my rehab seriously. I think receiving a higher education is important but at this point in my life I feel I have not reached my full skiing potential and am doing everything I can do get back to it.

 

On January 6th I received my fourth and hopefully my final surgery. My fractures unfortunately did not bridge in the first 9 months and I was faced with non-unions in both bones. We went back in last week and replaced all my hardware, did some bone grafts and essentially restarted the healing process. To some this might be taken as quite a negative setback; however, to me this is a very positive second chance. I will take what I learned from the past 9 months and apply my knowledge to the future. I know that setting clear goals will help me track my progress and also give me things to work for. I will stay mentally active by taking more classes; studying video from this seasons world cup and also visualizing my own skiing. I will find comfort and support from my friends and family who are major part of the healing process.

 

Injuries are apart of skiing and will always be a part of skiing. They create major setbacks and can lead to the end of seasons and careers. Injures are also a huge learning experience that force reflections and self-awareness. If you can fight through the darkness injures can be the most positive experience one can encounter. Stay strong, set clear goals, ask for help when help is needed and most of all listen to your body.

Nico Monforte, US Ski Cross Team