Leevi Mutru, the man of the joint, survived his terrible accident with about a month’s sick leave.
Leevi Mutru fell in the summer on Lahti’s normal hill. The result was a brain hemorrhage. PASI LEISMA
It was a normal training day last summer.
United national team player Leevi Mutru started from the jumping boom to Lahti’s normal hill like thousands of times before.
Then he lost control of the situation.
– Technically, I started from a slightly wrong position, i.e. the uphill position was too rear-oriented, Mutru says.
During the air flight, he knew that he could not get his performance down in a controlled manner. He approached the descent slope at 50-60 meters, head and shoulders ahead.
– At first I tried to save the situation so that I wouldn’t go crazy. When I was coming down headfirst, I had to try to twist around a bit more.
The equipment worked perfectly after the impact: the helmet protected the most important part of the person’s body and the skis came off immediately.
Mutru tumbled head first down the slope: face towards the jump hill and on his back.
– There was so much bumping and hitting in the shoulder area that it hit the muscle that was stuck hard. I wondered if the bones were okay, so I went to the doctor.
Cerebral hemorrhage
Mutru went to the reception of a private medical clinic in the center of Lahti. During the holidays, only general practitioners were available.
– At the health center, it was found that no bones have been broken. After the X-rays, at the second check-up, the general practitioner noticed that my pupils were slightly different in size.
Mutru was referred to Päijät-Häme Central Hospital for head CT scans.
– I walked to the central hospital and took care of the next season’s ski matters on the phone.
After the CT images, the seriousness of the situation was revealed.
– I was told that now you won’t get out of bed anywhere, Mutru says.
– There was an eight-millimeter hemorrhage on the visual cortex. I then stayed at the central hospital for observation for a day, he continues.
In the next day’s imaging, it was found that the cerebral hemorrhage has not expanded, so the connected man was admitted to home care.
Paranoia
The accident caused paranoia, the athlete says. PASI LEISMA
– It was the first month after the fall that I had intermittent headaches very often. After taking the recommended maximum amount of painkillers and having received an instruction manual for brain injury sufferers and their families, paranoia set in. Those were quite a few times, the athlete describes.
The scene could have struck in the middle of a shopping trip.
– You started to faint. When I thought that something might be broken in my head, it made me panic and paranoid.
Mutru devoured information on the subject from different publications. Audio books in particular became familiar.
– There are Yankee football players and hockey players who have had to end their sports careers due to blows to the head. It crossed my mind that I would never be able to train again.
Healthy man
Now Leevi Mutru is a healthy man. PASI LEISMA
A good month after the accident, Mutru went for a follow-up examination and received the so-called healthy papers.
– The Moomins are as scattered in the valley as ever before. I feel very grateful that I was able to fully recover.
Lahtelainen is studying to become a mathematics teacher at the University of Jyväskylä and does substitute teaching at his old degree at Salpausselä elementary school.
– The brain has been able to function quite well in recent months. You have to take breaks from time to time, even though it’s a huge frenzy to take in new information and develop yourself.
Mutru has returned to the hill and participated in the national team’s training camps.
– I feel good now. The national team camp is heavy, but that’s how it should be. You can do things with the fear memory, because it sometimes reminds of itself. But in the big picture, the recovery has progressed very well, Mutru commented on Tuesday at the Ski Association’s press conference.
The 27-year-old athlete has been on the threshold of an international breakthrough for several seasons, but the last step has not been taken. The best personal ranking in the World Cup is ninth place from 2019.
Last winter, the man qualified from the Olympic team due to health problems, so the continuation of his career was already under consideration before the accident in the summer.
– Enormous passion does not give in. As long as I can do sports.