I usually don't write a blog when I'm not in a perfect, fantastic mood with my "A" game on...but guess what??! YOU are about to get a glimpse of what I'm like at my wits end. Cuz guess what?! I'm mad as hell today!
Last night, June 6, 2011 during the Stanley Cup Finals we all witnessed Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins take a hard hit. One so hard, they had to take him off on a stretcher. We watched the slow motion replays...over, and over. His body was impacted hard, and his head (enclosed in what I'm sure is a top of the line helmet), took a severe blow and hit the ice.
But wait!
No need to fret! Although he was being taken to Mass General Hospital, he was witnessed "moving all his extremities" and talking! Phew, right?!?! Well..sure! I'm no doctor (despite my MD initials and many hours logged in with ones), but that movement was a relieving sign that there was no spinal cord injury at least!
Ok...so the game goes on, Horton is reported to be at Mass General still, and, we whip the Canadians 8-1. There is talk.... 'I hope he won't miss the next game'! Then...just now...
*********** BREAKING NEWS....Horton will miss the rest of the Stanley Cup Series due to....wait for it.......a "Severe Concussion"! ********************
Ok, so why am I so mad?!?! Because I called it when it happened? No. Because I can vaguely recall a similar experience? No. I'm mad because no one gets it!!! He can walk, he talk, he probably won't need surgery, and hell...I'm sure he can still play a damn good game of hockey! But what about everything else this star athlete has going on that will be effected?!!? Will he remember standing proudly as the National Anthem played that night? Will he remember what period he was in when he got hit? Had they scored yet?
Hopefully...he can remember. But most likely, he won't. And this my friends, is just the beginning of the things he will miss. It's more than than just playing in a few more Stanley Cup games. Trust me.
Will the NHL learn? Will Horton? More importantly, will YOU?
I've spent the past week figuring out where exactly in the Brain Injury Education/Prevention arena I want to direct my passion and efforts. I've come to find out, despite what I thought, it's not with kids. It's not with coaches. It's with YOU! YOU the parent, YOU the adult, YOU who are capable of reading and learning! I want to educate my generation, and those before me. We are the ones who somehow think that because we didn't take precautions when we were younger to prevent head injuries that WE are exempt! Guess what, We.Are.Not! So while YOU have the chance to think and remember, I hope you remember this. It's not just about taking care of your body that matters, because it's your brain that controls that....and more.
To Nathan Horton....you are an amazing athlete! May your strength and endurance that you show in hockey carry through in whatever lies ahead.
