Lais Souza, a 25 year old from Brazil was expected to compete freestyle skiing at the Sochi Olympics before a skiing accident that occurred on Monday, January 27. Souza hit a tree while skiing recreationally (not as a part of her training) in Park City, Utah. She dislocated a vertebrae near the top of her spine and injured the nerves that control her diaphragm. Souza is in critical condition and is unable to breathe on her own as of right now. She is also unable to move her arms and legs. Doctor's aren't declaring her paralyzed at this point, but they are recognizing that it is a possibility. She is using a breathing machine and is unable to talk, but she is responsive, and nods or shakes her head to reply to questions that the doctors ask. She definitely won't be able to compete in the upcoming Olympic games, and another skier has been selected to take her place. Doctors are hopeful that she will recover, saying that "People can recover, but it simply takes time to know if that's going to happen."
How would you feel if you were Lais Souza? I can't even imagine how hard this must be for her. She was so close to meeting her goal, and having it taken away from her so suddenly seems so unfair. Read the full article here.
Replies
Well done and good story!! Not sure why more people didn't comment.
If I was Lais I would be so devastated. Having all of your hard work and training suddenly flash before you eyes would be extremely difficult to handle. I hope that after she recovers from this accident and will maybe try to even ski again. She may not be making an Olympic appearance, but she shouldn't give up on her dream.
I feel very sorry for the skier. Being so close to the Olympics, and then having an accident ruin it all would be very hard to go through. I really hope that she will be able to walk again. Hopefully doctors are right, and she will recover.
I agree. It would be so hard to have to go through something like that. I hope she recovers too!
This is really sad. Hopefully she is able to recover from this accident without becoming paralyzed. If she recovers from this accident I wonder what she will do. Will she try to make it to the next Olympic games or will she just give up her dream? Hopefully in the end, everything works out.
She's been to the Olympics before as a gymnast, but once she was too old for gymnastics she decided to try something new. I think that it would be different if she had never been to the Olympics before, but since she was already able to experience it she may just be ready to slow down a little bit.
Now we know why they post these signs too bad though that it had to happen so close to the olympics, she was obviously a talent.