Lindsey Vonn: 'The doctor saved my leg from amputation'

Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn, 41, describes the nightmare following her fall at the Milano/Cortina Winter Olympics.

The American athlete revealed that she came very close to having her left leg amputated after the accident in the downhill event. However, she stressed that she is now out of the hospital and hopes to leave the wheelchair in a few weeks and start using crutches.

Vonn credited Dr. Tom Hackett, who works for Team USA, with saving her leg. 'He saved my leg from amputation,' Vonn said, adding that she broke her tibia, fibula head and tibial plateau. 'He did what's called a fasciotomy, where he opened both sides of my leg to let it 'breathe'. And he saved me,' she stressed.

After nearly two weeks of complete immobility in the hospital, Vonn announced that she was discharged and transferred to a hotel. According to her, full bone healing is expected to take about a year.