This story is off my sis' blog. Her 16-year-old son plays roller hockey and his team just won their tournament (Congrats, Big K!). But here's the real story:
They kind of expected to come in second, so it was doubly fun for them. And
special, too. They have a guy on the team ("M") who has over the last 6 months,
lost most of his sight. He is now legally blind, but can still see some shadows
and stuff. He still suits up, and when there's an opportunity, the coach puts
him in and he just sticks to one of the players, trying to keep his movement
contained. But it's like having only 3 players out there, because he can't see
the puck. Once in a while someone forgets and passes to him - it's just
heartbreaking. He's such a nice kid and he was a real force on the team in the
early part of the season - strong defense, great skater, very fast, great
shooter, the whole enchilada. I don't know the name of the syndrome, but it is
apparently hereditary. He has a younger sister who's already been
affected.
After the tournament win, the lady running the thing asked for our team
captain. We don't have one, but all the kids said "M" - almost in unison. My
throat closed up like I'd swallowed one of those giant jawbreakers. (Remember I
am the person who will dissolve into sobs over a newspaper article.) I needed
more than a couple Kleenexes for that one! So he got his picture taken with the
trophy. He had to be led up to get his jacket and medal and he said the flash
kind of hurt his eyes.
Oh man. My sis and I come from a long line of weepy people, but geez. I hope he can tell what that trophy looks like and know that he won it.
2 comments:
Eww. Sorry about the formatting on that block quote. It looks fine in "edit" mode. I hope it's not too hard to read.
Well, I'm not the tearing up type...but stories like that make me feel warm and mushy all over and I live warm and mushy!
Have fun on your mini-vacation!
Post a Comment