Austrian cross-country skier Katharina Engelhardt, 18, has revealed she suffered two cardiac arrests and was in a coma for four days due to myocarditis. She shared the news on social media, saying doctors thought she wouldn't make it.
Engelhardt posted a photo from her hospital bed and wrote: 'My life has changed from one day to the next and it shows that you should be grateful for every day. I was only told later that I had suffered two cardiac arrests and was in a coma for four days due to myocarditis. They also implanted a defibrillator to prevent another cardiac arrest. Even the very good doctors in Linz thought I wouldn't make it.'
Stunning recovery
'They were wrong, because I made it. After just one week, I was out of intensive care, and everyone was stunned. I don't remember everything, but I think it's better this way.' She expressed gratitude to those who visited and wrote letters, especially to Heli and Rose, who resuscitated her, and to the doctors.
Engelhardt also thanked her family and noted that her siblings locked her phone to help her rest. 'I am very grateful to everyone who wrote me a letter. Thanks also to the countless messages to my family.'
End of competitive career
However, the diagnosis has ended her budding sporting career. 'Unfortunately, competitive sports will no longer play a role for me. The sport has given me so much, I've learned so many things, I've laughed, but I've also cried.'
Engelhardt had been an up-and-coming star in cross-country skiing, finishing second in the Austrian national spring championships in January and 10th in the national 10km championship after representing Austria at the European championship earlier this year.
