Canadian Skier Sarah Burke In Coma

CP

SALT LAKE CITY -- Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke remained in a coma Wednesday after suffering "serious injuries" in a crash while training on a superpipe.

In a statement released by the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association, a doctor at University of Utah hospital said Burke "sustained serious injuries and remains intubated and sedated in critical condition."

Burke's husband, Rory Bushfield, and members of her family are with the skier.

"Sarah is a very strong young woman and she will most certainly fight to recover," said Bushfield.

Earlier, Peter Judge, the CFSA's chief executive officer, said he hadn't been informed of any change in her condition.

"Her family is there in regular touch with the medical people," Judge said. "We've been getting some information but ... we're trying to give them space to be able to deal with this part of it on their time and their terms."

Burke is a halfpipe pioneer who lobbied tirelessly to get her sport included in the Winter Olympics. Halfpipe skiing will debut at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

She was airlifted from Park City, Utah, to Salt Lake City after crashing at the end of a training run Tuesday in advance of the Winter X Games.

Burke, a native of Barrie, Ont., who grew up in nearby Midland before moving to Squamish, B.C., was training with a private group at the time of the accident.

"We know that she had landed a trick in the pipe and had landed at the bottom of the pipe and kind of hit on her feet, so she landed, and then bounced onto her feet, head kind of thing," Judge said Tuesday. "Apparently, from what we heard, it didn't look like it was that kind of severe a fall, but obviously she must have just hit in the right way."

Park City Mountain Resort spokesman Andy Miller said the accident happened in the early afternoon on the same halfpipe where snowboarder Kevin Pearce was critically injured during training on Dec. 31, 2009. Pearce suffered traumatic brain injuries but has since recovered and returned to riding on snow last month.

Well-wishers flooded Burke's Facebook page or posted on Twitter, wishing her a speedy recovery.

"(at)sarah--j--burke - I love you, I'm thinking about, I'm even praying for you," Montreal freestyle skier Maude Raymond said in a Twitter post.

Canadian snowboarder Spencer O'Brien posted: "Hoping and praying the best for (at)sarah--j--burke."

"(at)sarah--j--burke You are strong, please pull through! We all love you and are thinking of you!" posted American superpipe skier Angeli VanLaanen.

Here`s wishing Sarah all the best from those of us at Satfix................

http://media.thestar.topscms.com/ima...d93b2b142.jpeg

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke remained in critical condition Thursday after a successful operation to repair a tear to an artery that caused bleeding between her skull and brain.


The 29-year-old was airlifted from Park City, Utah to Salt Lake City after suffering a head injury during a crash in a superpipe training run Tuesday.
Burke underwent successful surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a tear to her vertebral artery -- a major vessel that supplies blood to the brain -- which had caused an intracranial hemorrhage at the time of her injury.
"With injuries of this type, we need to observe the course of her brain function before making definitive pronouncements about Sarah's prognosis for recovery," her surgeon, Dr. William Couldwell, professor and chair of neurosurgery at the University of Utah, said in a statement Thursday.
Earlier, she had been placed in a medically-induced coma, to allow the swelling in her brain to go down.
Burke is a native of Midland, Ont. who now lives in Squamish, B.C. She was training with a private group when the accident happened.
Burke, a four-time Winter-X champion, is considered a pioneer for her sport after she lobbied to get the superpipe included in the Winter Olympics. It is set to debut in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
Superpipe is essentially the halfpipe, but on a course for skis.
"Sarah in many ways defines the sport," Canadian Freestyle Ski Association CEO Peter Judge told reporters in a Wednesday conference call.
Burke's family said they are grateful for the support they received from around the globe and asked people to continue to send messages of support to Burke's Facebook page.
Burke's husband, Rory Bushfield, and other family, are with her in Utah.
"Sarah is a very strong young woman and she will most certainly fight to recover," Bushfield said in a statement Wednesday.
The course where Burke was hurt was also the site of a December 2009 crash in which U.S. snowboarder Kevin Pearce struck his head and suffered critical brain injuries.

Thanx for the update henric..much appreciated

Canadian freestyle skier Sarah Burke remains in critical condition two days after surgery to repair a tear to an artery that caused bleeding in her brain.


She is being closely monitored in the Neuro Critical Care Unit at University of Utah hospital in Salt Lake City. Dr. Safdar Ansari is co-ordinating a team of doctors caring for the 29-year-old skier.
In a statement released by Burke's publicist, Ansari says doctors are focused on the "primary injury and preventing secondary brain damage," as well as managing other injuries from Tuesday's accident at the superpipe at Park City Mountain Resort.
He says more time is needed before any prognosis can be determined.
A press conference is scheduled for Monday at the University of Utah Clinical Neurosciences Center.
Burke, a native of Barrie, Ont., who grew up in nearby Midland before moving to Squamish, B.C., was training with a private group at the time of the accident.

By Paul Foy, Associated Press January 18, 2012 6:53 AM

Sarah Burke not improving, still critical, sedated days after ski crash.

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