Three words will stay in my head after watching my son laid out on the ice last night.
“Get. Up. Pussy!”
With a minute left in the second period of the game, Spiderman took a clean “shoulder-to-shoulder” hit that had him dropping to the ice. The “pop” was heard when he landed on his shoulder…the look on his face is one I won’t forget for some time making me all too aware, while I sat in the stands, that this was a little bit more than a regular fall.
My kid, who is as tough as nails…was down.
With the help of his teammates who helped him to his feet…he skated off the ice where just moments later, his skates were off, his bags were packed, his arm was taped and we were heading to the IWK Children’s hospital where I have to tell you…he was a trooper.
His wit and charm came shining through as gear was being removed…as nurses and doctors did their very best to make him comfortable…as tears couldn’t help but escape his eyes while he tried to breathe through the worst of it…tried to grin…tried to keep his composure and hold down the emotions of knowing that hockey was unexpectedly now on hold.
His self-diagnosis to his coach of “I broke my collar-bone” was confirmed by one set of x-rays and then another…ordered by Ortho as there was some fear of his shoulder also being separated.
But he was lucky.
A brace…pain killers…and approximately six weeks to heal.
Everything went as well as could be expected with help from teammates, coaches and the amazing staff at the IWK. I couldn’t be more thankful how this horrible situation played out from beginning to end except for these three ugly words that seem stuck in my head.
“Get. Up. Pussy!”
Said by a player from the opposing team after a clean hit…a clean drop…a fair moment in a game where accidents can happen and injuries occur.
While he lay on the ice in pain…not for long but long enough to know it was bad. While the whistle blew and he got off the ice knowing he was broken…trying to hold himself together and not stay down to stall the game.
When there was absolutely no need to be a jerk. Without empathy and, in my opinion, showing unsportsmanlike behaviour, mean-spiritedness and lack of respect. Three words were spoken.
Words that were followed a few hours later by a doctor who did her very best to make my son comfortable…who kept him at ease explaining each step and what to expect…who showed us the x-rays and pointed to the nasty break claiming three more words…”This isn’t normal.”
And quite frankly, I couldn’t agree with her more.
Tall Blonde told me about this today. Cannot believe that other kid. SO infuriating. But Noah’s a total badass, hope he feels better soon!! 🙂
He laughed at you calling him a badass!!! Hope everything is good with you. xo
You must be so proud of the way he handled his injury.Wish him well and we both hope he heals soon.
Thanks Mary! I’ll pass along your wishes. He’s back to school today…a little uncomfortable but not too bad!
I’m not naive. I grew up around hockey players. Most of my boyfriends in high school played hockey. And while they were sweet as pie to me, while I met some of them in church youth group, while they had very clean and respectful mouths – on the ice, the culture was different. And as I watch my two little boys grow up and talk to me about how they want to play hockey some day, I am both proud of them for being so passionate about something and also scared about what that culture will do to them physically and mentally.
It is not okay to call someone a “pussy”. Not for the person who is being called that, and not for any woman who has to hear it. My hope is that the coach would have dealt with that comment later, but I don’t know how the locker room culture is any more. All I can say is that if I were THAT kid’s Mom, he’d be hearing lots of words from me. Lots.
I hope Spiderman heals fast. He sounds like a really great kid! 🙂
The culture around hockey is definitely different…has always been. With that said, it’s a sport that has been incredibly rewarding for my son and a HUGE part of our family. The positive aspects are far bigger than the negative ones. I think it’s just another one of those “teachable moments.” We need to encourage our kids to live with compassion, respect and empathy.
Laura, your boys will love hockey. There are moments I haven’t but there are also moments I didn’t like my eldest in Ballet or my youngest riding horses. It’s hard to shelter our kids…there’s a constant fight between the “mom” in us and the desire to let them go after their dreams! It it were up to me, they’d be bubble wrapped and sheltered from everything and everyone out there! LOL. But sadly…that might be a little unrealistic!
Although…I might still give it a try! 🙂
So scared my 3 year old wants to play hockey!! I know it is great! But it is so rough!!!!!