My name is Isaac West, I am 20 years old and this is a story about my life-changing collision.

On July 3, 2021, I became semi-unconscious after flying 15 metres through the air and plunging onto the ice floor while skiing with my dad Carey at Mt Hutt.

Feeling disorientated whilst simultaneously adrenaline pumped, an excruciating pain punished through my leg. I knew something was very wrong.

Fortunately, a snowboarder called Tracy and her father ran up to me as no one was near me at the moment of my crash. They used my ski poles to wave down ski patrol on the lift and within 15 minutes I was taken to the medical clinic.

At this point, the damage to my leg was visible. It was severed off and hanging on only by a piece of calf muscle. Little did I know that I had a compound fracture in my tibia and fibula, which resulted in completely destroying an artery and led to considerable blood loss.

An educated decision was made from the ski patrol to tourniquet my leg and I was swiftly flown off the mountain by the Westpac Helicopter team.

After eight hours of surgery, I was put in a high dependency ward where some incredible nurses looked after me. I was given copious amounts of blood to remain stable. In total, I was given 10 units during my recovery.

I woke up with two legs, but was informed about the measures taken to be alive, let alone alive with two working legs. The nurse could feel the faintest pulse in my big toe which was a miracle. The doctor said that the ski team put the tourniquet on perfectly for the best chance to save my leg. Another stroke of luck was that my nerve line was still attached to the piece of calf muscle that held onto the rest of my leg.

Which brings me to the reason why I wanted to tell this story. I thought this is an opportunity to thank all the people that saved my life and my leg, including those who take the time to donate blood.