Ca va aller!

It has been a while since I have posted anything and even when I do it seems to be maybe twice a month so I am going to make a big effort to blog more regularly. I will try to write a resume from our games and maybe add another blog during the week at some point as well.

I know many of you are concerned with what happened in the game last night against Rouen. We lost.

Oh ya, and I was taken off the ice on a stretcher.

Yes it is true and at the time it seemed very bad but I can assure everyone that I will be fine and that is was a big scare but it is a good thing that I have abs of steel.

To explain a bit in detail, last night we were playing in the semi-finals of Coupe de la Ligue against Rouen. In the third period down a few goals, we decided to pull our goalie with about 7 minutes to play. We had a faceoff in the offensive zone, but quickly lost possession and the puck was flipped high in the air and began heading for our empty net. Noticing that I was the last guy back, I turned and started skating back to get the puck before it crossed the goal line. I arrived just in time to pull the puck away and I turned into the corner but as I was turning, the puck traveled through the goal crease and the mount of snow next to the post. I lost control of the puck and had to reach back behind the net to get it. As I was changing direction, I lost my balance (so they tell me) and was hit from behind.

My head hit the glass very hard, but the worst part was the immediate pain in my stomach and the fact that I could not breathe whatsoever. For a second I think I lost consciousness after hitting my head but I quickly realized the pain and tore my helmet off as I was gasping for air. I believe it was the top hand on my stick that was driven into my stomach as I was crunched on the boards and I am not sure how much time passed before the medical staff got to the ice but it was probably long enough for a television timeout (if the game were televised). By the time the doctor arrived I had started to find my breath but could not speak to explain the pain I felt, I just held my stomach with my hands. I remember very vividly the doctor's face being within 1 cm of mine, as he told me to breathe easily. I was struggling and now that I think about it, I probably just did not want to breathe in his face, I can't imagine what my breath smelled like from 1cm away.

The medical staff came out with a stretcher and the crowd was whistling like crazy. I saw the stretcher to my left and was adamant on not wanting to go off the ice on a stretcher. I pushed it away with my left hand, but as the doctor's nose hairs grazed against my pale face, he told me this was non negotiable and that I could have hemorrhaging in my intestines and if I got up it could be very dangerous. This doc was tough, if his power wasn't displayed by forcing me onto that stretcher, him going face to face with my dragon breath really showed courage!

As I was being placed on the stretcher, a few of our guys came by and gave me a tap, I remember seeing Carl Malette from Rouen come over as well with some encouraging words just before I was taken to the dressing room. At the time, I could not really digest ( no pun intended) what was happening and the magnitude of it all, but I do believe I heard our crowd chanting "Enculé" as I left the ice. Feel free to hit the Translator on that one. Pretty sure it was directed at the guy who hit me.

I know there were many things written on the internet about what happened and that is why I am trying to clear it up. So for the record, I was NOT transported by helicopter to the hospital in Grenoble. Well from the state I was in, maybe I was, but they must have got me back to Briancon pretty fast. So I think I arrived by ambulance and they quickly did an ultrasound to check for hemorrhaging, which was negative. But in this case negative is a positive. So no internal bleeding, alright, good sign. I might have a bit of a cracked rib issue but I can deal with that.

So after two different ultrasounds and 2 x-rays, there is nothing extremely serious to be concerned with. Good thing for Twist Conditioning and all of that Core Strengthening I have done over the years to help protect my insides! For now I am taking it easy, I still have pain in my stomach and intestines and my abs are pretty seized up for the time being, but I am going to take things slow and just be thankful that it was not worse than this.

As for the culprit, well I am not going to be putting a bounty on his head, I will not even mention his name. I still have not seen the video of the hit so I do not know exactly what happened. I know hockey is a fast sport and sometimes these kinds of things result. Apparently he claimed he did nothing wrong on the ice as my teammates defended me. My only issue is that you take responsibility for your actions. I don't believe he intended to hurt me and had I been facing him it would have been a completely legal check. But the fact of the matter is, he hit me square from behind. I like a good physical game and believe that hitting is a big part of the game of hockey, but injuries occur when we are careless and checking from behind is where we must pay close attention.

Special thanks to Damien Raux who stayed at the hospital for a few hours after the game and was nice enough to stay up until 5am watching the Habs/Sens NHL game with me (Go Habs Go!) And also Bernard Rouillard who is always there for the players and their families.

Ca va aller!!! I'll be back soon :)