Patagonia Expedition Race

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Frostbitten Verónica will be a week in hospital, 3 weeks not walking

Jacqueline Windh / 29.06.2006

I visited LIDER-AL AIRE LIBRE/URUGUAY’s Verónica Bravo in hospital in Punta Arenas yesterday, the 28th, two days after the end of Patagonia Expedition Race’s first winter edition. She is in pretty good spirits (considering), but bored and hungry and immobilized, with her swollen feet enclosed in a special support so that no blankets or anything touch them.

The goal right now is to try to alleviate the swelling and prevent infection. She had been told that she will be another five days in hospital, and doctors are now saying that she will not be walking for at least three weeks. Her blackened big toes are showing some whitening around the nails, which apparently is a good sign – but she is still being monitored closely. Her fingers are also swollen and lacking sensation. Doctors say that she will probably take months to recover sensation, but that she will not lose any toes.

So, what exactly happened? I have spent a LOT of time talking to people – to the teams who were around during that last fateful trekking section, to the race organizers, and to Verónica and Ruben themselves.See All Event Posts