Yesterday and the days that follow will forever be marked as sad, sad days among the skiing community, as well as for the lives of Canadian skier Sarah Burke’s family and friends.
The beautiful and energetic Ontario-born skier, who was only 29-years-old, succumbed to her injuries and passed away yesterday morning with her friends and family by her side.
Sarah had for the past 15 years reached acclaimed success as a leading trailblazer for competitive female free skiing. She had fought to get women the equal opportunity as men to compete in the Winter X Games where she would go on to win several medals.
On January 10th, Sarah was in Utah training at the Park City Mountain Resort Eagle super pipe. She was in training for the 2014 Olympics, her dream being to win a medal. She was one of Canada’s top favorites for gold.
While training in Utah on the pipe, Sarah had performed a trick that resulted with her falling on her head. At first, the fall didn’t seem all that bad, until her body went in cardiac arrest quickly afterwards. After being airlifted to the Utah Hospital, she underwent neurosurgery. Sadly, the damage was done and Sarah was to sustain permanent brain damage from the lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest.
Sarah leaves behind her husband, fellow skier whom she’s known since the young age of 14, Rory Bushfield. The two were married on September 25, 2010 and their wonderful love story was documented in the film Winter. It’s a sad and eerie video to watch, as it depicts the lively and so in-love couple’s wonderful story, their wedding, and their dreams.
Sarah’s family mourns the loss of her, but is also faced with the building medical costs from her care while in hospital, totaling $550,000. There is a fund organized in hope to help cover the costs, so please feel free to visit it at giveforward.com
My heart and prayers will forever go out to Sarah and all her loved ones.
