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Lindsey Vonn opens up about horrifying injury

ALTENMARKT/ZAUCHENSEE, AUSTRIA - JANUARY 12: Lindsey Vonn of USA at a press conference during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Downhill Training on January 12, 2017 in Altenmarkt/Zauchensee, Austria (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Lindsey Vonn of USA at a press conference during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Downhill Training on Jan. 12, 2017 in Altenmarkt/Zauchensee, Austria. (Getty Images)

Eight weeks after suffering a gruesome arm injury in a training crash, Lindsey Vonn will return to competitive skiing this weekend.

It’s a pretty remarkable comeback considering the new details Vonn shared about her horrifying injury in a video posted to Instagram on Thursday.

I am beyond thrilled that I am announcing my return to racing this weekend! It's been a grueling 8 weeks since my arm surgery with over 300 hours of therapy but all of my hard work is finally paying off! This video I made is very personal. I was very open with all of you regarding the bone fracture in my humerus but what I haven’t mentioned to you is the fact that I also had severe nerve damage. I have thought about whether I should share this information for a long time. In the end, I have opted to tell you because I feel my journey might also give hope to those with similar injuries. As you can see in the video, I woke up from surgery and had no function of my entire hand. I worked closely with my friend and physical therapist @lindsaywinninger and Patrick Rottenhofer every day to slowly regain my motor function. Today I am still struggling to do simple things like put on my ski glove and do my hair, but I'm at a point where I am comfortable with my hand in most situations. This has been the hardest recovery of my career to date but thankfully it has taken less time to heal than my knee injuries. After my 8 week checkup with Dr. Hackett, my bone showed significant healing and I was given the green light to start training and if I was comfortable, start racing. This is just a small piece of my journey back from rehab to racing. During the entire process I documented my progress and was also shadowed by a film crew from @eurosport . Together we captured every high and every low for my new docu-series 'Chasing History'. It will air in February, so you will be able to see my recovery as well as watch me continue to chase history in the future. Thank you for always supporting me no matter what obstacle I face. I have the greatest fans in the world and I am very thankful. And remember, nothing is impossible. If you fall, get back up! #nevergiveup Xo Lv

A video posted by Lindsey Vonn (@lindseyvonn) on Jan 11, 2017 at 1:05pm PST

Along with severely fracturing the humerus bone of her right arm, the Olympic gold medalist lost function in her hand due to nerve damage. Although she has regained some function in her hand, Vonn said she still struggles with basic things like putting on a glove and doing her hair.

Vonn, 32, has spent a great deal of time on the road to recovery in recent years, as this was the fourth time in the last five winters she has suffered a serious injury.

Last February, Vonn’s season ended early after she suffered three fractures in her left knee following a crash in a World Cup race. It was the second major injury for Vonn that season, as four months earlier she broke her ankle while training in New Zealand.

Vonn, who won downhill gold at Vancouver 2010, was forced to miss the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi due to ongoing injuries stemming from a devastating crash in February 2013 that resulted in a torn ACL and MCL in her right knee and a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau.

Given Vonn’s extensive injury history, calling her latest setback the most challenging of her career is a scary proposition and makes her speedy recovery all the more impressive.