Full Send: Freak Accident Recovery

Last season, Timmy Tourville was working to qualify for Junior Nationals Ski Jumping, having hit every 30 plus size ski jump in New England East Division and the Lake Placid 48 meter the previous season. On Christmas Eve though, he suffered a freak accident. While running around the basement looking for a festive handkerchief for his dog, he fell into a tote containing a glass picture frame. His mother, Cheryl Tourville recounts the story…

“Timmy comes racing up the basement stairs with this huge gouge in his leg and goes, “Mom, I’m bleeding!” …We ran to the hospital thinking he was just going to need to get stitched up, but in the ER we learned that he had actually lacerated his tendon… [And after the procedure] the surgeon was blown away. He goes ‘He lacerated both of them… a full laceration!’ Timmy had run up the stairs just on muscle memory and himself as an athlete.”

“Timmy lives for his sports… soccer, cross-country running, baseball, ski jumping, snowboarding, kayaking, skateboarding, swimming, downhill mountain biking, all of that… I looked at him and said ‘Timmy, I need you to understand, buddy. You’re not jumping this season, OK?’ It was so hard for him. He’s like, ‘Mom, I’ve really worked hard. I’m going to lose all my progress.” You could tell he was nervous, starting to worry about then, “Oh, what’s this mean for baseball?” It’s probably his favorite sport. This year was going to be the first he could be on the school baseball team and he was really looking forward to it. I told him, ‘You’re going to get back there, OK? We’re going to get you the best physical therapist… We will. And you are going to be fine.’”