What was supposed to be a triumphant comeback for Lindsey Vonn at the Milan Olympics turned into a nightmare in a matter of 13 seconds. And what followed next was the ordeal of multiple surgeries, to be precise, 3 in the span of 5 days. While she’s still the hospital nearly 130 hours after, Vonn has now shared another heartbreaking update with her fans.

From her hospital bed in Treviso, Lindsey Vonn shared an update on her current condition and detailed that the surgery horrors aren’t over, as another one is lined up shortly.

Vonn said, “I’m finally feeling more like myself, but I have a long, long way to go.“Tomorrow I’ll have another surgery and hopefully that goes well and then I can potentially leave and go back home, which point I will need another surgery.

“I still don’t know exactly what that entails yet until I get some better imaging, but it’s kind of where I am right now.“

Vonn has suffered a complex tibia fracture in her left leg and was seen wearing external fixators in the last update. She’s already undergone three surgeries so far, one to stabilize her leg, another to prevent swelling and maintain blood flow, while the reason for the third wasn’t detailed. There is similar uncertainty around the procedure of this fourth and a potential fifth one.

However Vonn acknowledges, “I am just in the hospital, very much immobile.” 

Vonn’s fourth surgery update further confirms ex-NFL doctor David Chao’s assessment about her injury. In a recent video, Dr. Chao had claimed that three surgeries are not going to be the end of her injury, by reviewing the erector set that went across her knee joint.

“She’s probably going to have, and I say this in the kindest of ways, a dozen surgeries. In terms of washouts for debridements. She’s going to at least have one more surgery to definitively take off the erector set and fix the problem, but it’s likely multiple still,” he said.

But despite the inevitable future, Vonn remains positive. She agreed that it has been a hard couple of days for her at the hospital but she remains thankful to everyone sending her flowers and stuffed toys. Also to the doctors and Team USA, whom she has been closely following.

Ideally, the recovery time of such an injury could potentially take from 8 to 11 months to heal, but it depends on person to person, and sometimes it can be longer than the usual. However, as she navigates this difficult chapter of her life, she has the weight so many loved ones behind her. 

Global athletes rally behind Lindsey Vonn after her health update

As soon as Lindsey Vonn shared the video, Simone Biles couldn’t hold herself back from “sending good vibes” and a white heart under her post on Instagram.

In fact, this is Biles’ second time reacting to Vonn’s injury update. She had previously sent white hearts on Vonn’s first post after the injury too.

Not just Biles, former Spanish Tennis player Garbiñe Muguruza, also showered Vonn with her support this time, saying, “Stay strong” with a red heart.

For Vonn, who tried to achieve Olympic glory with a ‘100%’ torn ACL, her discharge from the hospital now hangs in the balance while she gets ready for a fourth surgery. Only time will reveal her path to complete recovery.