Not to be outdone by his mom, Norwegian ski racer Aleksander Aamodt Kilde shared an update on his recovery on his own Instagram account. His mother Kristin had shared an emotional update on her social media channels just days before.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde had crashed during the Downhill race on the Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland, on January 13, 2024. The Norwegian skier crashed at full speed, just meters from the finish line, cutting his leg and dislocating his shoulder which also severed ligaments and damaged his rotator cuff.
Hi! 👋🏻
Super happy to share that my wheelchair journey has come to an end as of last Friday. 🥳 It was seven weeks…and those seven weeks were some of the most challenging of my life so far.
First of all, and most importantly: mentally it’s up and down, for sure. I have good days—or better days-and worse days, so it’s really sort of the mental part of it is not so easy because there’s not much happening. So every day you wake up and you do the same thing…and that’s going to be life for the next bit. I am getting a little impatient, but it’s definitely going to be different when I get to walk again and be more independent…because I still need a lot of help.
And for my head—when I go from being totally independent and can do whatever I want physically and mentally—it’s a tough battle. And also, I’m always asking the question if I’m able to really get back to 100% normal functioning in my body, which is not the best feeling. But I’m also more calm in the situation, I know the trauma is something I need to work through. I’m still thinking about the crash and what happened and what I need to work on to sort of accept it and move forward, but it’s hard to imagine skiing still…which is, I think, totally normal—but that’s a question of how I’m going to feel when I get back, or if I get back, or yeah—these are questions I ask myself, it’s not the easiest situation to be in, but I do have a lot of nice things to look forward to and that’s what I’m focusing on now, and still try to take care of things I need to take care of and let everything else be how it is.
Physically, it’s small steps still, not really much happening regarding the development of things, but also a lot happening when it comes to the recovery side of it. Overall, I am experiencing far less pain, and the scars are healing really nicely-the surgeons did a great job…when I look at it now, you can barely see the scars-especially on my calf/leg. So, that’s really exciting, but also a little bummer that you can’t see the scar😅.
Over the last few weeks I’ve made big gains, even though I can honestly say that when I’m in it, it feels slow because I haven’t really been moving much. Two weeks ago I had my first days standing normal 50/50, which felt so so weird after not putting weight on it for so long. But, it was a huge step when you look at walking. The nerves are still pretty similar to where they’ve been, but have a tiny progress on my toes which is great.
Many of you asked about the treadmill I was using. The AlterG (Anti-Gravity Treadmill) has been a huge help for developing…you put on sort of a neoprene shorts/wet suit shorts, which has a zipper on top and it pushes out air, and it lifts you up so you can adjust with the percent of your body weight. It’s a great tool for me to be able to get back on my feet and walk again. I will use it quite often—at least until it feels totally normal to walk. It’s probably been the best tool I have had to be able to get out of the chair. Plus, I got in the water for the first time the other day, that felt so good!!
As far as the shoulder goes, it is still relatively passive. I got an MRI again to check out the nerves, and of course there’s some stretch in the nerve going from the top of the shoulder and around and back. So, it’s going to be interesting to see if I have contact with all of the muscles when I start using it actively, but that’s also sort of a waiting game. A little bit of a slow process still, but I started actively working with my shoulder on Monday this week. I have a very limited range of motion, but it’s so nice to be moving.
I have way less pain, am sleeping better, and things feel a bit brighter, but I’m still not able to be very active these days. There is a lot to look forward to and be thankful for…I’m moving into my new apartment, my parents are here, we have some great days, good dinners, good meals, getting a lot of visitors. Ragnhild and Kajsa were here last week—it was so nice. I was able to hang with Lucas the other day…nice to have his energy around again. It’s super when you have colleagues that care so much about you. That also makes it really motivating to fight as hard as I can to get back on my feet.
Things are moving in the right direction, and that’s really important and a good feeling.
Thank you so much for your support,
Aleks 🙏🏻
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