A day of races at New York’s West Mountain would have been the last for Victor Wiacek if not for the quick actions taken by ski racers Kylie Mackie and Linn Ljungemo from Vermont’s Castleton University.
Wiacek was racing down West Mountain in a giant slalom event when one of his skis kicked loose and severed an artery in his left thigh.
“I could hear Victor screaming as Linn and I were running up the mountain and ripping off our jackets,” said Kylie Mackie to the Times Union. “When we got to him I tied my windbreaker around his leg while Linn went up to his head to talk to him and comfort him.”
Wiacek was then rushed to Saratoga Hospital by ambulance where doctors were able to replace a portion of the lost blood. Wiacek was then taken to Albany Medical Center, where Wiacek underwent successful surgery to stop the bleeding and seal the wound.
Castleton University’s Associate Dean for Athletics and Recreation, Deanna Tyson said that, “The young man’s father called me and told me that the doctors in Saratoga said without the swift response on the mountain, Victor wouldn’t have made it.” Tyson went on to say, “The actions that were taken by Kylie and Linn can be described as nothing but heroic.”
Read the full story at www.timesunion.com