"Uh Guys...Chad fell Down"

So...do you remember that one part in the beginning of "That Thing You Do" when:


Well...it wasn't his arm...it was his
leg...and it wasn't leaping over parking meters...it was down hill skiing.

It was Chad's first time on ski's. He had decided (after quite a bit of coercing from his wife) that he was going to give skiing a go since it's one of my favorite outdoor activities and all of my family members are avid skiers. So...the day after New Years we went up to the Beav and took Chad on his first run down the hill on Skis. Sure he biffed it a couple of times, but he made it down Little Beaver fairly well, all things considered. After a few runs down the little beav, and a couple brief tutorials from me and my dad, Mr. Ski Patrol himself, my dad decides that Chad is ready for Gentle Ben. Now...don't let the name fool you. Gentle Ben is nice and all...but he's not as gentle as his name would imply.

On the first drop off Chad ate it pretty hard. He pulled one of those head first-kart wheels with a double lutz spin kind of wrecks. You know the ones I mean. Everyone who skis or boards has either had personal experience with one of these specific types of wrecks or have at least seen one happen from the safety of their lift chair and screamed out a rating on a scale from 1-10 based on snow displacement and the radius of their gear (poles, skis, hats, etc...) strewn across the mountain side.

He pulled the "Man" card for a while, and kept getting back up to try and finish the run. After 3 failed attempts and making it another 400 yards down the mountain...he knew something was wrong and opted for the "sissy" way off the mountain. Luckily my dad was skiing with us and radioed in for a toboggan. Chad said that was a once in a life time experience...and although the toboggan ride was fun...he'd prefer to never do it again.

We got down the mountain and made it to the Budge Clinic in Logan where we spent the next 3 hours waiting for the doc to tell us the verdict. After a few x-rays we found out that Chad had a "Mid-Fibular Fracture" And would be in a boot for 3-6 weeks and on crutches for the first half of that as well. Joy.

Oh well. What can you do? We feel pretty blessed that it was such a minor break. It could have been much worse. We're grateful it wasn't.

Chad getting his first set of x-rays. Note the baggy of snow in front that we used as a make-shift ice pack while waiting, and the green lead appron in the back...to protect the family jewels.

The demoralizing wheel chair. This was a breaking point for him I think.

The sign I noticed AFTER I took all these pictures with my phones...suckers. They shouldn't have kept us waiting so long...maybe I wouldn't have taken so many pics.