Jessica Rayborn Photography

Before moving to Charlottesville I lived in Nashville, TN for over 10 years. In the time I lived there I saw snow maybe 5 times and never more than about 4 inches. It was a big shock to me at first. Growing up in Boston, I was used to seeing 2 to 3 feet of snow and going to school in blizzards. Milk and bread were not the staple items purchased before a snow storm, it was hot chocolate, extra sleds and hand warmers. 

So when meteorologists were predicting two feet of snow for Charlottesville several weekends ago, I didn’t lock myself indoors with milk, bread and candles. Instead, I bundled up and took a drive into the country to get some snowy images for my personal collection. I also did some sledding. The Wednesday before I called nine stores in search of a sled. Every single store was sold out. I  left my name and number with one store who thought they would have a shipment coming in that evening.  They called me when the truck arrived and I stood in line for 35 mins waiting to get my sled. I ended up buying three… just in case I could convince some friends to tag along. Boy oh boy did I have the time of my life sledding. I went sledding with Ryan and our friends Ben and Celeste. We started off on hills by our house and then migrated to Washington Park over on Preston Ave. UVA students were there sledding on all sorts of contraptions. I saw pillows inside trashbags, trashcan lids, laundry baskets, cardboard boxes, air mattresses, kayakes and canoes (oh yes, they were sledding in these with paddles!) It was a sight to see… a large white background with specks of black, orange, green and red speeding by on their makeshift sleds. I was in heaven!

My sister-in-law always says I do things whole heartedly and intensely. Sledding is no exception. Unfortunately for me, I was a bit too intense and went flying in the air after hitting a jump.  My friend Celeste got the best image of me mid air.  I landed pretty hard on my shoulder.  Needless to say, it hurt and sledding was done for me. I actually didn’t realize how hurt I was,  so I sat on the sideline sitting in the snow while I watched Ryan, Ben and Celeste continue sledding. About two hours later I realized that my injury was more severe than I thought…I couldn’t lift my arm at all and had a huge bump on my shoulder. We stopped sledding but continued the adventure in the ER. Thats where I learned I had an AC separation.  Separations are graded on a scale of 1 to 6 – mine was a 5 and would definately need surgery to mend.

The surgery is done and I’m beginning to heal. A ligament from my knee had to be taken out and used to replace the ligament in my shoulder. It’s been a difficult two weeks not being able to walk, move my arm, or take photos… but I’ve had an excellent live in nurse, my hubby! I’m not sure how I would have survived without him. I have another 4 weeks in the sling. Yuck.

Below are some images from before the injury when I went out scouting the snow and a couple from my sledding trip with friends… plus the infamous picture of me mid air and my x-ray. Enjoy!!!

And now for the good stuff….