Skiing Accident, Part 3 -- Recovery

It has been more than a week since my skiing accident, and I am still on crutches and wearing a leg brace.

The day of my accident, a man died off the same lift.  The newspaper reported the location of the man's death as near the pass at the "Silver Fir" resort.  The Summit at Snoqualmie is the only ski resort at the pass, and Silver Fir is one of their chair lifts.  I wonder if the same Ski Patrol team who took me off the mountain had to recover the man who died in the tree well. Was it the same sled that held my warm body hold his cold one just hours later?

The Ski Patrol people were very friendly, warm and calming. They all smiled a lot. They must be trained to be kind to people who are in distress.  Do they teach doctors, nurses and paramedics the same thing? Those professions see difficult stuff on a daily basis, where I imagine the Ski Patrol folks might have day jobs that might be far less exciting than professional skier, like accountant and marketing manager.  I am guessing the Ski Patrols are chosen first on their ability to ski, and then on how well they take care of people. Half of the challenge is being a good enough skier to go down any hill under any conditions and bring people down safely.  Maybe these people were ski team people in their youth, or maybe just missed the bar to make it to the Olympics, although speed and agility are somewhat different skill sets.  Fast skiers I am sure are as agile, but an agile skier isn't necessarily fast.

One of the Ski Patrol women said her daughter asks every time she comes if she helped anybody.

"Today I can tell her 'yes'!" she said.  What would she tell her daughter last Saturday if she were on the team who recovered the man who died?