A 13-year-old Durango girl is recovering at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora after fracturing her pelvis while skiing at
Ava Maxon is expected to be in a wheelchair for 12 weeks followed by months of rehab and physical therapy, said her mother, Jennifer Aragon.
The accident occurred Friday in a terrain park near the base area. Ava, who has been skiing since she was 4, had been hitting a jump all day, her mother said. On the last run of the day, she wanted a picture of her going over the jump.
“She hit it, and she went too fast – and she knew she went too fast – but it was a little too late,” Aragon said. “They estimated she went between 25 and 30 feet in the air. ... When she hit, her ski popped off and she landed on the left side.”
Ava was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center before being flown to Denver and ferried by helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Aurora. She underwent two surgeries Monday on her pelvis, which included installing a metal plate, screws and “a lot of hardware.”
She is hoping to be released from Children’s Hospital before her birthday on Tuesday. But she will need to make return visits every two weeks for several followup visits, Aragon said.
“Obviously, we have expenses that I can’t even imagine what it’s going to look like,” the mother said.
Two funds have been set up to help the family with expenses: one at First National Bank of Durango under the name FBO Ava Maxon Benefit Account, and another that can be found by going to www.gofundme.com and entering Ava Maxon’s name in the search bar.
Ava was born in Durango and is a student at Miller Middle School. Her mother is looking for new place to live because Ava won’t be able to access her second-story apartment in a wheelchair.
“They have already told her that she’s going to have pain for the rest of her life,” Aragon said. “Once we get going with walking and stuff, there’s a great chance she’s going to need a cane. ... It’s definitely going to be a long process, and this has changed her life in the way things will work.”
shane@durangoherald.com
