Mark McMorris posts before and after photo after life-threatening crash

VANCOUVER – Mark McMorris gave his fans an update a week after a life-threatening crash in the backwoods of British Columbia.

McMorris posted a pair of photos to Instagram that served as a before-and-after of how he looked before the crash. One photo showed him sitting on a couch with his brother Craig, the other had him laid up in a hospital bed, covered in medical apparatus including a breathing tube.

"Apparently a lot can change in a week," said McMorris in the caption. "So so thankful to have my life! It was touch and go there for a second and I don't know how I can thank everyone enough for praying and sending healing vibes.

"I hit a tree in the whistler backcountry a week ago and to be honest I was pretty sure I was going to die."

McMorris then thanked his brother Craig and friends for "staying calm, building me a nest, and calling search and rescue."

He added: "I will never take another day on this earth for granted."

A bronze medallist in slopestyle at the 2014 Olympics, McMorris suffered breaks to his jaw and left arm, a ruptured spleen, a stable pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a collapsed left lung.

The 23-year-old from Regina had to be airlifted off the mountain and underwent two separate surgeries last weekend to control bleeding and repair his jaw and arm.