Get Well Tom
On Sunday night a horrible accident occurred in the Minnesota/Mankato playoff game. An accident that brought back horrific memories to Sioux fans of Robbie Bina crumpling to the ice after breaking his neck during a game.
Tom Pohl of Minnesota was checked into the boards, his helmet came off and he hit his unprotected head on the boards and ice and suffered a very severe skull fracture. This was an incident that terrifies all hockey parents, family, friends, coaches and fans. Hockey is a very rough sport and all of us who have someone we care about playing the game has the fear tucked into the back of our minds that something like this may happen. Fortunately, these accidents are rare, but when they do happen, it causes us to pause and say “but for the Grace of God …”.
Tom,
I just wanted to let you know that I, along with many, many others are praying for you and wishing you a speedy recovery. This Sioux fan has been thinking of you often and I was very encouraged to read this morning that your condition has been upgraded and you have been moved out of ICU. It doesn’t matter that you may play for an arch rival’s team because if you play hockey, you are “one of the family.” Get well soon.
HeidiSioux
While most of the attention has rightfully been directed towards Tom, his family and his injury, someone that may be overlooked in this incident is Jason Wiley. Jason is the player who checked Tom. From what I could see watching the play, the hit was not malicious or done with the intent to injure (unlike the hit that occurred previously in a similar instance). From all accounts, Jason appears to be sincerely remorseful and extremely shaken up by the hit (again, unlike the player involved in the previous incident). This shows great compassion and heart, and I would like to encourage Jason to seek out all the help and support he can find from his family, friends, coaches and teammates to assist him in dealing with this situation. I would also like Jason to know that this Sioux fan is not only thinking of and praying for Tom Pohl, but also for him.
Again, very nice HeidiSioux. Everything I've read/heard about Jason Wiley leads me to believe he's a kid with a very big heart and this incident is tearing him up. Thanks for remembering that! I agree that there doesn't seem to have been any malice or harmful intent.
ReplyDeleteTom Pohl and his family continue to be in my thoughts and will be this weekend.
Amen Heidi.
ReplyDeleteAs a long-time Gopher fan, I must tell you my first reaction to your comment was "Jason who?" I don't generally follow MSU that closely, and it was a solid hit by two teams playing hard to win, and nobody I know looked twice to see who did it.
The focus was entirely on Tom Pohl.
Wiley should take heart to know this is not his "fault", the game can be rough, and this was a freak accident, we hope never happens again.
Thursday night: Gophers 3, SCSU 1
I watched this happen on TV and have been praying and thinking of Pohl and Wiley since. Wchahockey.blogspot (the Mav blogger) has an update - Wiley has been in contact with Pohl's family and went with an assistant coach to visit Pohl in Rochester.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Goon, for your updates. I am a lurker in the east (UND grad) and I find it hard to concentrate on work while the Five starts tonight!
Fight on Sioux!