
10/09/2025
A skiing accident left Ashley’s future as a photographer out of focus. With our help, she was back behind the camera by wedding season.
“I went skiing with some friends. It was a perfect day with a light snowfall that quickly turned into one of my worst nightmares. While going down a hill, I gained too much speed. While trying to slow down, my ski got caught, and my leg bent in the worst way. I knew something was wrong and needed ski patrol. Fortunately, they came quickly and got me the rest of the way down the hill.
My husband rushed me to TCO Urgent Care in Woodbury. I was able to be seen quickly. After getting an MRI, it was confirmed that I had a 3rd degree MCL tear and a full-blown ACL tear that would require surgery. I was crushed. Tears streamed uncontrollably. I knew how serious this injury was and was immediately filled with so much uncertainty, especially in regard to my photography business.
Unfortunately, surgery wasn’t an option for at least 6-8 weeks as my MCL needed to heal first. As I started to do the math, I realized that if I had surgery, there was a fairly high chance I wouldn’t have enough time to recover and shoot the weddings that I had booked this spring.
After lots of time to think and discuss my options, I decided to build up the strength around my ACL as much as possible to keep me stable. I postponed surgery until the fall, when I would have more time to make a full recovery.
There were many days filled with doubt, tears, and uncertainty. However, I tried to stay focused on gratitude through it all. After weeks of physical therapy and committing to my exercises like it was my full-time job, I finally made it to a point where I could confidently shoot my first wedding again and even walked a full mile just last night. Thank you, TCO!”