A Parent’s Worst Nightmares.

A parent’s worst nightmare happened to us on January 7, 2012. Here's what happened up to the nightmarish moment. My husband took the girls to their hockey games and I stayed home with our son, one in Miles City on Friday and the other in Glasgow on Saturday. Miles City is about 169 miles from where we live so my husband decided that they would leave early and get checked into the hotel room and kind of relax before taking the girls to the hockey arena. It also just happened to be my oldest girl's 18th birthday that Friday. They went to the arena to get ready for the game and the team sang happy birthday to my oldest and she then received her present from us which was her own hockey jersey. In our hockey club the girls are given their jerseys to use for the year, they are typically sponsored and donated to the club. We ended up winning the game 5 to 4. After that they went back to the hotel and went to bed for the night.

On Saturday morning they got up early to get ready to go to Glasgow, MT from Miles City, MT it is about 196 miles to the arena. They ate breakfast at Perkins before leaving, but on the way they had some truck troubles. The truck was over heating and they had no clue on what was wrong. Once they arrived at the arena the girls put their bags in the locker rooms and had a bite to eat. About an hour before the game the girls got ready in the locker room. At the beginning the game was like every other game but in the second period, the game turned physical. This is where the nightmare began. My youngest was going for the puck along with another girl and lost her edge. This caused her and the other girl to collide into a big pile against the boards. My youngest daughter's head hit the edge were the glass meets the boards and she fell to the ice with the other girl falling on her back. The other girl got up and my youngest didn't. The game was still going on for a while until the referees seen that she was still lying on the ice. The referees went over to check on her and then motioned the coach over. When the coach got to my youngest he motioned my husband down to the ice. She could not move or feel anything from her neck on down. The ambulance was called and she was taken to the hospital in Glasgow. While they were at the hospital my husband called to tell me what had happened. He asked me if I was sitting down and I said yes. I was anticipating that he was going to tell me that the girls had won the game big time instead that my youngest had gotten hurt and they didn't know how bad it was yet and that when he know anything he would call me back to let me know. Talk about pacing the floor and worrying until he had called back and told me that they could not do anything for her at that facility and had to fly her out. Then the wait began again this time for him to call and tell me when they would be taking off in the plane. After he called and said that they were taken off the wait began again. The waiting is what kills a parent because you don't know what is going on and how bad it is. This is what I mean by one of parents worse nightmare is the not knowing what is going on and how bad it is. She was flown to Bismarck, ND and taken to Med Center One, one of the state’s best hospitals. They evaluated her and found out that she had torn muscles in her neck and back. On top of that the doctor said that she had received a spinal concussion and that was why she had no feeling in her neck and back. She stayed in the hospital until Monday January 9 and by then she had full feeling in her neck and back but had to wear a neck brace for a week. I am so grateful that it wasn't any worse than that for there has been a couple of young hockey player who have been paralyzed due to a hockey injury. She cannot play hockey this year but will be able to go back next season.

The Watford City Hockey Club has been by our side throughout this ordeal and has shown great support. While my youngest was at the Glasgow hospital the whole team came to check on her and some of the Glasgow team stopped by before she was flown out. The support and concern for a fellow hockey player is one of the greatest aspects of playing hockey. Nobody likes it when a kid gets hurt in any sport and the support from that team and others is very much appreciated. I would like to thank everybody for their support.