Patricia was skiing on a warm, sunny spring day and had decided to call it quits due to the softening snow. As she was making her way down the last segment of the hill, she struggled to maintain her balance on a flat section of terrain. When one of her skis broke through the snow near the edge of the run, she was pulled into a stand of trees. Unable to free her ski, she suddenly found herself on the ground with excruciating pain between her shoulder blades, and a sickening realization that she could not move her legs.