Jennifer Don injury

[leon]

I attended an exhibition at the Univerisity of Delaware last night (Friday Feb 20) where Jenny was scheduled to perform both as a single and with Jonathan Hunt. It was announced she couldn't perfrom due to an injury during practice this week.
I asked one of the other skaters what had happened and apparently she had fallen during a lift and hit her head causing a gash on her forehead and chin requiring stitches on her chin. I assume with an accident like that she also had a concussion but that is my speculation.
My thoughts hopes and prayers are with her and Jonathan and do hope her recovery is swift and complete.
leon

[rinkrat]

wow I hope she is ok...I was really impressed with her at 4 cc's....I loved her smile when she skates it reminded me of only one other lady that smiles when she skates like that: Lesley Hawker

[Justine_R]

I have never heard of her!

[leon]

Jenny won gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy competition in September 2003 see http://usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=18730
She competed at Nationals this year in Pairs and Singles. Don and Hunt finished 4th in Nationals. The audience booed their marks of 5.2 to 5.5, but Don had doubled her two attempts at triple toes, and their planned throw triple flip turned into a double. In the final count they did receive a first-place vote but lost out in a tiebreak for third with Scott and Dulebohn.
Jenny finished 8th in senior ladies singles in Atlanta.
She graduated from high school last May, first in her class; and is taking a pre-med program as a freshman honors student at the Univ of Delaware.
She also won the National Collegiate Figure Skating gold medal last summer see http://usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=27.
Finally, she has a smile and presence on the ice that just oozes out love for the sport and skating. Great fun to watch.
leon

[anoymous1]

Wow another injur i remember when they were trying out he ran over her finger and she had lost her finger. she must be fearless to continue.8O

[skatingatty]

Call me a naysayer, but if this were my child, I'd tell her to give it up now. She's already gotten her finger cut by her partner to the point where it was amputated, and now this. It sounds serious. She's so smart and talented in other areas- why risk becoming a vegetable?

[pairfan2]

Originally posted by skatingatty
Call me a naysayer, but if this were my child, I'd tell her to give it up now. She's already gotten her finger cut by her partner to the point where it was amputated, and now this. It sounds serious. She's so smart and talented in other areas- why risk becoming a vegetable?


I totaly agree with this quote. How many more injuries is she going to sustain before someone puts an end to this? I think her partner is wreckless and dangerous and if I were her mother , I know I'd want her to split from him.

[JDC1]

How is this her partners fault? Maybe it's her fault she fell from the lift! Give the blaming a rest until you know the whole story. Partnering in dance and pairs is tricky and it's very easy to fall or knock each other down and no one has to get blamed or told to quit the sport!

[Schmeck]

A lot of figure skaters end up with a nice scar or two on their chins from skating - even Michelle Kwan has one. And gee, I almost lost a finger while making chocolate chip cookies 10 years ago. So I shouldn't make cookies anymore? How about if I use a wooden spoon, instead of my finger, to get the dough off of the beaters? :roll: :oops:

Skaters learn from their mistakes. It's not like Don has a spinal fracture, or hip problems, joint problems, etc. Now, if my daughter had to take a year off from skating because of a back or hip injury, then I'd be thinking twice about her continuing in the sport...

[pairfan2]

Does it not matter that she lost most of her finger because he ran over it? And, from reliable sourse...she was DROPPED.

[alexeiluvr]

Originally posted by anoymous1
Wow another injur i remember when they were trying out he ran over her finger and she had lost her finger. she must be fearless to continue.8O
I never knew she lost her finger.:?:

[skatingatty]

Originally posted by alexeiluvr
I never knew she lost her finger.:?:

I read in an article that it happened when they were trying out or just starting together. He dropped her in a lift and his blade ran over Jennifer's finger. The doctors said she could get it surgically repaired (just cosmetically, the finger still wouldn't move), but that would've meant not being able to skate for 2 years, so Jennifer chose to have the finger amputated instead. When I broke my ankle jumping and had to have surgery, my grandmother and aunt told me to stop skating, which annoyed me. 7 months later, I got back on the ice again and eventually got back to pre-injury abilities. However, I'm not being lifted up and twirled 7 feet up in the air with many chances of being dropped on my head. Jennifer's family has been through so much, moving around from TX to Nevada, Boston, and Delaware, and I'm sure they've spent a boatload of money too. I don't have kids, but I doubt I'd want my kid going back to doing pairs if they'd been so seriously injured like Jennifer has.

[alexeiluvr]

Do you have a link to that article?

[skatepixie]

Thats not a career threatening injury. Its not like Tara's hip or something...

[sugar4]

Originally posted by skatepixie
Thats not a career threatening injury. Its not like Tara's hip or something...

Personally, I would think that any injury involving the head could not only be career threatening but also possibly life threatening. (I'm thinking of Paul B here)

I sure hope that Jennifer is ok.

sugar

[icechick]

I don't usually post, but because there seems to be some suggestion that Jennifer Don's injuries are a result of Jon Hunt's skating/partnering "problems," I'd like to reply. I've taken lessons from Jon and, although he is very aggressive and demanding, he is also strong, steady and careful of his partner. Skating, in general, is a risky sport and pair skating carries some extra risks. IMO, if ya love it, you'll take the risk!

[icenut84]

Originally posted by pairfan2
Does it not matter that she lost most of her finger because he ran over it? And, from reliable sourse...she was DROPPED.

Maybe she was. That doesn't automatically mean she should dump her stupid partner for being careless. Anything could have triggered the fall. Maybe she was off-balance and he was unable to catch her weight. Maybe he caught an edge with his blade. Maybe either of them did something not quite right that threw them off. The point is, unless any of us actually witnessed the fall and knows, it's pointless to throw blame. Accidents happen, especially in skating, and particularly in pairs skating. It's a dangerous sport.

I hope Jennifer Don recovers well and soon.

[JDC1]

Okay, ofcourse he dropped her, she's not gonna jump out of his arms, but whose to say who was at fault and if anyONE person was solely at fault. Dancers trip each other ALL THE TIME and fall and get hurt and no one ever blames the other, it's an assumed risk and my guess is pairs is similar in that respect.

[backoutsideedge]

What is the status of Jennifer's injury? How serious is it.

[FollowYourHeart]

I am shocked and a little upset at all the blaming of Jon. Accidents happen all the time.

Jennifer's problems that are being mentioned (the head and the finger) are clearly freak accidents. It isn't as if she has a serious back problem or a chronic hip problem. Accidents happen and it's as simple as that.

If you were in more than one wreck, would you quit driving forever? The logic is a little fuzzy, IMO.

[ella101]

I don't think people should think that this is Jon Hunt's fault. He is probably the best male pair skater in this country. His competitive record speaks for itself! I personally think he could do better.

[SkateGuard]

1. Jenny's finger injury happened during the TRY-OUT. As in, they still didn't understand how each other moved, which was probably a factor in the injury.

2. Cut by a fall on a lift...by what, the ice? I've fallen a lot and never been cut unless one of my skates hits me. We don't know the whole story, but Ron Ludington is well known for teaching his male pairs skaters to do everything they can to protect the woman in a fall. That might explain the cut.

3. After watching Adult Pairs at Mids, I have to say..it takes two to tango. The woman's role is just as important as the man's in a lift. Since we weren't there, we don't know what happened.

BTW, stitches on the chin is a rather common injury for singles skaters...they split their chins learning flying camels!

Erin
who thinks these two have a nice chemistry that seems to belie some of the stuff on this thread!

[skatewizard]

So bottom line, is Jennifer okay now and is she back on the ice?

[PAskate]

Well, she's certainly skating. She and Jonathan were the guest skaters at a local benefit show Saturday night. I wish that it had been another weekend, and I could have gone.

[somerandomsk8r]

I am proud of Jen sticking to it, it's a sign of a true competitor. Anyone who quits after a few bad falls really isn't up for all of the challenges in skating. When you are a pair skater or an ice dancer you are bound to be dropped at some point or another, it's just part of the risks in skating. Accidents happen all the time, either way you aren't going to avoid accidents in skating or accidents while you're walking down the street. Unless Jonathan dropped her on purpose (which i highly doubt) I wouldn't worry.

[anoymous1]

I did not mean Jon cut off her finger on purpose or dropped her on purpose. I just meant that she is fearless in the fact that she does not bring it up or let it affect her and that she rolls w/ the punches. I have known Jenny for 2 years and this girl does not have a mean bone in her body and she would not blame anyone or talk about bad about anyone. More power to her.

[Cupcake]

I have known Jenny for 2 years and this girl does not have a mean bone in her body and she would not blame anyone or talk about bad about anyone. More power to her.

LOL what planet are you from, IMO she is the rudest person at UD. Further more I saw the accident and she went up in the spin like a wet noodle and did nothing to attempt to help herself !

[leon]

CUPCAKE!!!! . . . . Talk about rude!!
Shame on you ... even if its your opinion it sounds terribly petty.
She is fine by the way. I saw her recently at practice. She and Jonathan have always been very friendly and generous toward me with their time and energy.
Sometimes you just get what you give.