No, not snowmobiling, snow boarding or even skiing, I'm talking about going down a hill on an inflated tube (snow tube/inner tube). It's all fun and games until someone flips over on their head or back and breaks something. Just an ordinary day at the hill with the family and I decided to hit a little jump the kids had made. Really, it was all of two feet high +/-. The hill is 60-70 feet, not particularly steep. So I go over it, must have leaned back (or something), next thing I know, I'm staring at the sky between my thighs and I land on my back with my knees touching my ears and an excruciating pain in my spine. I sprawled out on my back unable to breath, only short gasps. Couldn't talk for a few minutes all the while thinking I was not going to be able to walk again. Not able to play with my kids again. I was able to finally move, roll over and get up (with quite a bit of pain). After an x-ray and CTscan, the only damage was a fractured vertebrae seen here...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/291176375/291176375YmnYQk ...it's blurry but you're looking down on it, the round white part is the "body" of the vertebrae. You can make out a dark line (fracture) running from the top to bottom (roughly) and another line at the 10 o'clock position. There is another line that you can't see in the photo.
Not looking for sympathy, just hoping to share the story so hopefully it doesn't happen to someone else. I said "only damage" because had I landed a little differently, I may not have been able to write this.
Be careful people. Keep in mind, your fish need someone to take care of them!
:sad !
