Six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Amy Van Dyken’s spirits are high after severing her spinal cord in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend.
“Doing great today. My room is the most decorated in ICU,” she wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “Thx for ur thoughts & prayers!”
The 41-year-old, who goes by her married name Amy Van Dyken Rouen, was injured Friday. She was airlifted to a hospital and had surgery to stabilize her spine.
Hospital spokeswoman Alice Giedraitis didn’t provide details Monday on Rouen’s injuries. She said the swimmer was in good condition Monday afternoon.
Van Dyken seemed to confirm that diagnosis on Tuesday.
“Making progress.. First day I sat up. Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers,” she wrote on .
A letter from the Van Dyken and Rouen families said she severed her spinal cord at the T11 vertebrae and that the broken vertebrae came within millimeters of rupturing her aorta.
“Amy awoke within hours of surgery acting like her typical spunky, boisterous, ebullient self and has spent the last 24 hours entertaining her family and her medical staff in the ICU,” the letter said.
Full story via Olympian Amy Van Dyken says she’s ‘doing great’ after severing spinal cord in ATV accident – NY Daily News.