Sport-Women
Shone Recovering after Spinal Surgery
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October 28, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
British bobsleigher Serita Shone is recovering in hospital after undergoing spinal surgery following a major crash in training on Thursday.
Shone and her team-mate Fiona Harrison crashed during training yesterday for the British Championships in Winterberg, Germany. They crashed at 70mph, which resulted in Shone fracturing her spine and Harrison receiving a head injury.
The fracture to Shone’s spine meant that she needed to undergo immediate surgery, which lasted four hours. Performance director Gary Anderson spoke to the BBC: “She has had one operation to stabilise the fracture and will have another in three to four days’ time repair the damage.
“She is doing OK and is in a positive frame of mind but she’s not allowed to move so she’s bored and finding it difficult to sleep.”
The surgery was a success but Shone is still in intensive care and will undergo more surgery next week.
Harrison, driver of the bobsleigh, suffered a head injury but was released from hospital on Friday. Neither of the women can remember the moments leading up to the crash on turn 13, which was towards the end of the run.
When talking about Shone’s future in the sport, Anderson said: “At this stage we don’t know what the future holds for Serita. It will be a very long road to recovery but we will be supporting her all the way.”
The British Championships will continue in Winterberg on schedule this week despite the accident. The athletes involved with the competition were given the option of leaving the championships but have decided to continue with their training regimes.
By Jonathan Davies
[Image courtesy of meteormeetandgreet]
