Sarah Burke’s Family Awaits More Tests after Surgery to Repair Vertebral Artery Tear
Freestyle ski champion, Sarah Burke underwent surgery last Wednesday to repair a vertebral artery tear. The hospital was supposed to hold a press conference today about Burke’s condition and prognosis, but the hospital has cancelled that press conference. According to Nicole Wool, who is a spokeswoman for the University of Utah hospital, said that press conference was cancelled because there will be more testing done today and in the following days that will better assess Burke’s condition.
Burke was injured in a half-pipe accident last week while practicing in Utah. While some witnesses said that the crash did not look that bad, doctors believe that she “whiplashed” onto her left side. She was on the superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort when the accident occurred. Burke had to be resuscitated at the scene and was flown by helicopter to the University of Utah hospital.
Burke is still listed in critical condition and is in a coma. There has not been a lot of information released on her condition, but it is known that she suffered a traumatic brain injury. The goal of the doctors is to provide Burke with the care needed to prevent additional injury to her brain. Safdar Ansari, who is a neuroinensivist and the head of the team providing Burke’s care, said that it will be quite some time before any prognosis can be given.
Burke is a four time X Game Champion and was ranked 11th overall by the Association of Freeskiing Professionals last year. She took home gold at the world championships in 2005 in Finland and was awarded an ESPY in 2007 for Best Female Action Sports Athlete. Burke is a favorite for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Sochi, Russia. According to Peter Judge, who is the head of the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, Burke was instrumental in getting the ski halfpipe event in the Olympics.
