Rare Injury Impacts Synchronized Skater's Life

by Brenna Walsh

Kendyl Diederich and her sister Jessica hang out two days after surgery. Fraser Eclipse was also skating its short program during the day.

(6/28/04) — Figure skating has always been known as a sport of grace, beauty and, well, fun. Unfortunately, the 2004 U.S. Synchronized Team Skating Championships in San Diego, Calif., last March were not so fun for a skater on the Fraser Eclipse junior team.

Kendyl Diederich, 13, has been skating for 10 years. The first-year junior synchronized skater on Fraser Eclipse was practicing the short program at the San Diego Ice Arena with her team the day after they arrived at the championships. It was the first practice, the first run-through of the program. During the first 20 seconds as the team was doing a back lunge intersection, Diederich fell. No one could quite tell what was happening as one of her teammates accidentally skated over Diederich's left arm. The brachial artery was severed, and Diederich's arm immediately started bleeding profusely.

“I knew that figure skating could be dangerous,” Diederich said. “My sister has had to get stitches a few times and people have had foot injuries, but I never knew that this sort of injury could happen. Everyone that I have talked to said that this is the worst injury they can ever remember in our sport.”

The brachial artery is the major artery that supplies all the blood to the arm and hand. The heart pumps a significant amount of blood through the brachial artery every minute, so the kind of injury that Diederich experienced is life threatening.

Dr. Wendy Buchi, who had been assigned as a doctor for the event by the local organizing committee and is also a skater on Team del Sol's adult team, rushed to assist after two of Diederich's teammates carried her off the ice. There was a slight delay in the arrival of the paramedics, but Buchi was impressed with the teamwork exhibited by all who were at the rink.

“I practice at Scripps LaJolla Hospital so I was able to call ahead and alert the appropriate physicians of Kendyl's condition,” Buchi said. “Everyone worked together to provide the best care for Kendyl, and I'm proud to have been a part of it.”

“Jacylyn Klann covered her hand on my arm to try to stop the bleeding, and Laura Ziemiecki helped carry me,” Diederich said about two of her teammates. “They took me off the ice, and Dr. Buchi and a physician's assistant kept pressure on my arm until the ambulance came.”

Kendyl celebrates with the Fraser Eclipse at the hotel after she was released from the hospital and the team finished the competition.

Diederich was transported to Scripps LaJolla Hospital, and within 30 minutes she was getting prepped for surgery. During the surgery, which lasted about three and a half hours, they performed an artery bypass, taking a piece of the artery from her leg and transplanting it into her arm.

“I have about a four-inch scar on my leg where they removed the artery,” Diederich said. “They also had to call in a neurosurgeon because there was damage to the nerve in my arm.”

Doctors made the decision to wait and repair the nerve in her arm after she returned home to Clinton Township, Mich. Once she returned she saw a vascular surgeon, an orthopedic doctor and a hand specialist. It was determined that she should have surgery on her nerve as well. The doctors cut both ends off of the nerve and tried to put it back together.

“According to the doctor the surgery was a success,” Diederich said. “However I will never be the way God made me, but the doctor said he would try to make it close.”

Diederich was in a soft cast for two weeks while her incision healed. Her 40 stitches were then removed, and her arm and hand were put into a hard cast for three weeks. It has been over a month since her hard cast was removed, and she will soon be starting physical therapy to try to straighten her arm.

Everyone is hoping that the nerve has begun to grow. But it is a slow process, only growing about one inch per month, and it will take 14 inches to reach her hand. Until that time she will not know if the surgery was a complete success.

“Some days certain things will happen,” Diederich said. “After not being able to move my pointer finger since the accident, I started to be able to bend it a little bit. It was a huge accomplishment for me, and when I saw the doctor he really had no explanation.”

The Healing Process

Diederich had to stay in the San Diego hospital for four days before going home but was released in time to see Fraser Eclipse perform its free skate. She was able to be with her team as they were getting their marks.

“They let me go down near the ice with them, and I was in my wheelchair with them when they received their marks,” she said. “At one point the large screen at the arena showed a close-up of me with all the kisses from my teammates, and everyone in the arena cheered for me.”

Kendyl with sisters Ashley and Jessica on the day that the junior Fraser Eclipse team performed its free skate.

Diederich said that her teammates and coaches as well as many other skaters, coaches and judges have been wonderful. She has received more than 150 cards and letters, lots of flowers, candy and cookie baskets, as well as stuffed animals. Her teammates continue to call and check in on her and are very anxious for her to return to skating. She was even named “honorary captain” for the team.

“I am planning on returning to skating in the future, but it won't be for about 14 months,” Diederich said. “I have always loved the sport, and I hope it's just a matter of time before I can skate. I can't risk any injury to that arm so they won't let me on the ice at all right now. If I were to fall, my arm could not support me and I could cause even worse damage.”

To keep up, Diederich has tried to stay active with her team and the Fraser FSC. Recently she attended tryouts and helped the coaches. She continually chats with her teammates and tries to participate as much as she can in any events that they do.

“My teammates are really a great bunch of girls and have been really wonderful to me through this,” Diederich said.

This experience has definitely made an impact on Diederich's life. She learned how important doctors and physical therapists are and may even want to become a physical therapist herself one day. She thinks it is very important that first aid be taught to coaches and that whenever possible a medical person should be at practice and competitions.

Diederich has also learned that in life, there are always surprises, and nothing can prepare you for what may happen.

“Even though you may love something like I love skating, it can be taken away from you in a minute,” Diederich said. “There is no doubt you never know what could happen, and I will probably be a little tentative when I go back to the ice.”