Former ski champion's health declining
<p>Johnson became the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing when he won the downhill at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.</p>
Former Olympic downhill ski champion Bill Johnson is reportedly dealing with a life-threatening infection that has attacked his major organs. His family says he no longer wants to go through treatment.
Johnson’s mother told the Associated Press in a phone interview the one-time daredevil skier refuses a feeding tube, even though it hurts to swallow. He no longer wants supplemental oxygen or antibiotics that could possibly help. Johnson wants to return to an assisted-living facility in Gresham, Ore., where the 53-year-old was living before the illness.
“That’s what he wants,” Johnson’s mother said. She added that they had a “good day” on July 16 as they visited the hospital’s garden.
Johnson became the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing when he won the downhill at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
He suffered serious head trauma after a horrible ski crash on Big Mountain in Whitefish while competing in the Kandahar Cup prior to the 2001 U.S. Alpine Championships.
Johnson was navigating a turn though a section of the race course known as Corkscrew on the lower portion of Big Mountain when he lost control, landed face-first on a patch of ice and slid through protective fencing.
The crash left him in a coma at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He also severely lacerated his tongue when he bit through it, sending blood into his lungs.
Johnson was racing at Big Mountain that winter in a comeback attempt with the hopes of competing in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
In recent years, Johnson’s health has been on the decline because of mini strokes followed by a major one.