In a heartbreaking update, skier Lindsey Vonn revealed that while she was stuck in a hospital bed following her devastating Olympic crash, she was also saying goodbye to her beloved dog, her “first love.”
“This has been an incredibly hard few days. Probably the hardest of my life. I still have not come to terms that he is gone…” she began her message. “The day I crashed, so did Leo.”
Vonn went on to note that her dog Leo had recently survived lymphoma, but his heart was “failing him” and he was in pain.
“As I layed in my hospital bed the day after my crash, we said goodbye to my big boy,” she wrote. “I had lost so much that meant something to me in such a short amount of time. I can’t believe it. My boy has been with me since my second ACL injury, when I needed him most. He held me on the sofa as I watched the Sochi Olympics. He lifted me up when I was down. He layed by me, and cuddle me, always making me feel safe and loved. We have been through so much together in 13 years.”
As she prepared to head into yet another surgery Wednesday, she noted that he would still be with her.
“It’s going to be a while before I emotionally process things but I know he will always be with me. I know he’s up there with Lucy and Bear and my mom and grandparents and so many people I have lost in the past few years. And I takes solace knowing he’s not in pain anymore,” she wrote. “There will never be another Leo. He will always be my first love. Heading in for more surgery today. Will be thinking of him when I close my eyes. I will love you forever my big boy.”
Vonn returned to the U.S. earlier this week following a week of treatment at a hospital in Italy after breaking her left leg in the Olympic downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.
“Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week… been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing,” Vonn posted on X with an American flag emoji. “Huge thank you to everyone in Italy for taking good care of me.”
The 41-year-old Vonn suffered a complex tibia fracture that has already been operated on multiple times following her Feb. 8 crash. She has said she’ll need more surgery in the U.S.
Nine days before her fall in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee in another crash in Switzerland. Even before then, all eyes had been on her as the feel-good story heading into the Olympics for her comeback after nearly six years of retirement.
