Former Olympic Gold Medalist Skier Bill Johnson Takes Himself Off Life Support

[cmgoods]

For any of the skiing fans on here,

BJ elects to leave hospital, take himself off life support

For those with an appreciation for the manner in which Bill Johnson won the 1984 Olympic gold medal in downhill, boldly predicting the outcome days before the contest, it will come as no surprise the feisty American ski racer has elected to “pull the plug” on life support systems.

Johnson has been hospitalized with a severe infection according to a report from his mother and passed along by the Bill Johnson Special Needs Trust Project.

He decided to return to the Gresham Regency Nursing and Rehabilitation facility where he had been living and continue without life support.

Johnson, skiing's "bad boy" in the 1980's has been trying to overcome a severe head injury sustained in training for a comeback bid prior to the US Nationals in 2001.

BJ Johnson was the first American to win an Olympic downhill.

[video=youtube;_IFoFWYF0sI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IFoFWYF0sI[/video]

 

[Liver]

That sucks.

 

[cmgoods]

Here's more from CBS:

Bill Johnson, the brash skier who won the 1984 Olympic downhill, has taken himself off life support as he suffers from an infection that has attacked all his major organs, his mother told an Olympic sports website.

Johnson, 53, was hospitalized on June 29 in Oregon and spent two weeks in intensive care. His mother, DB Johnson-Cooper, told 3 Wire Sports that Johnson has “shut himself down.” He crashed while trying a skiing comeback in 2000 and suffered a major stroke in 2010.

“He has no quality of life from this point on and never will,” she said in the interview.

She sent a note to family and friends saying “the doctor was very frank with him, and Bill knew exactly what he wanted. He shed a few tears, which was a very hard thing to see.”

In the interview, Johnson-Cooper added her son “has no physical use of any part of his body. He has difficulty even raising his head. His mind is still very keen, but his body has literally shut down.

“It's very sad, very sad. He is having a hard time.”

Johnson, the first American man to win Olympic Alpine gold, tried a comeback in 2000, flashing an arm tattoo that read "Ski to die." He crashed in a practice run at 60 miles per hour, sending him into a coma for three weeks.

 

[Buffnik]

That's horrible.

RIP, Bill. Thank you for the memories and kudos on having the strength to try to keep fighting these last years.