CrossFit Coach Kerrie Olsen Undergoes Surgery After Breaking Skull in Golf Cart Accident

CrossFit coach and owner Kerrie Olsen underwent surgery on Monday, May 11, after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a golf cart crash while vacationing in Mexico. 

Olsen was forced to have a piece of her skull reconstructed with a custom ceramic piece after the original part of her skull was not a match for reattachment. 

“Everything went absolutely perfect and the connection was perfect,” Olsen’s sister, Heidi Gustavson, shared via Facebook on Monday. “They are all heading to see her in the recovery area shortly and I will keep you all posted!!!”

The surgery was scheduled to take four hours, but surgeons ended up finishing the operation in two hours, Olsen’s sister explained. 

Gustavson provided another post-surgery update on Tuesday, May 12, saying that her sister was “doing good.”

“Swelling along her incision line has gone down,” she wrote. “The incision line is from her mid-hairline to above her right ear and down like two inches, like a U shape. She’s sleeping soundly now.”

Olsen’s sister added, “Doctors came in and said her CT scan they did at 4 AM looked great. Her nurses said she’s making great strides and she was listening to their directions.”

Still, she urged that Olsen still has “a very long road for her. Keep praying.”

Olsen, who owns Skol CrossFit in Riverton, Utah, fell off a golf cart while vacationing with her husband, Paul, and a group of friends in Puerto Vallarta last month. 

After it was determined she sustained a subdural hematoma and had massive bleeding around her brain, Olsen underwent surgery in Mexico before being transported back to Utah via medical evacuation on Wednesday, May 6. 

Olsen’s sister urged friends and members of the CrossFit community to keep her in their thoughts as she continues on her recovery journey. 

“Not that anyone deserves this, but she is the last one on earth I thought would be fighting for her life. Her new normal,” Gustavson wrote via Facebook on Tuesday. “As her big sister I’m supposed to protect her. This has left me crumbled for obviously (sic) reasons, but I also couldn’t save her from this and I’m literally sick over it.”

She continued, “Fight like hell. You are loved by so many and I am in awe of how many are rooting for you. I love you sissy! We will get you back because of who you are and how strong you are, but this is the hardest thing I have ever been through. And we all know the s*** I’ve been through. I Love you with all of me! I will see you soon and I’m never letting you go!”

A GoFundMe organized in Olsen’s honor has raised more than $102,000 at the time of publication.