When Felida Rodriguez '09 skied into a tree at the Dartmouth Skiway last Tuesday, she shattered her chin, jaw, cheekbones and right eye socket and fractured her right femur and left clavicle. Rodriguez has spent the past week recovering at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
"She hasn't been able to see too many people," Rodriguez's friend Bridget DiPrisco '09 said, "but she's been receiving flowers, cards, and balloons every day."
DiPrisco said that Rodriguez has access to her computer, and that friends, classmates, acquaintances and people who have gone through similar experiences have "flooded" her with messages.
Rodriguez, known to her friends as "Milo," will undergo facial surgery this Wednesday, after which she is expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days to recover. She has also undergone physical therapy on her leg, DiPrisco said.
Despite the severity of her condition, Rodriguez has maintained contact with her friends at Dartmouth through Facebook.com and BlitzMail.
"My face is broken, but I'll keep smiling. Thank you all for your love and support, you guys are my angels," Rodriguez wrote on her Facebook.com profile. "I WILL see you in the spring, you think a tree would stop me?"
Rodriguez had missed several sessions with her ski class before the day of her accident, DiPrisco said. She was assigned to ski down the advanced "MBA Trail" and smashed face-first into a tree on her way down. According to DiPrisco, however, Rodriguez's instructors placed her on the trail because they were confident in her ability to ski it.
"She was placed in the group she was in because of her improvement. From watching her progress, the instructors advised her to ski with the group she was with," DiPrisco said. "There were no set classes. Each week, students were divided up based on their ability."
DiPrisco added that the support that Rodriguez has received from the Dartmouth community has been very meaningful to her. "There has been a tremendous outpouring of love, prayers and support from everyone on campus, which has meant so much to Milo. She is doing much better and improving every day."
A DHMC spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.
