Jack Jablonski

I received an email on Sunday afternoon about an older brother of Max's teammate from last year that was checked from behind and was in the ICU. He can't feel anything from the waist down and minimal feeling in his hands. Tears sprung to my eyes, my stomach turned, my heart hurts.

As a hockey parent, one that has a child who is now checking, it's my worst nightmare. Max and I have an understanding. If he gets checked and goes down, he is to move his legs immediately for me to see from the stands. I have watched for those legs and I canNOT imagine if they didn't move. Just as I have watched a line drive flying at my son on the pitching mound and life stops for a second while I wait for him to get out of the way.

I know what a lot of you are thinking. Why would you allow your child to play a sport that could have a life changing injury? The answer is simply that I believe that everything you do in life comes with a risk. I truly believe that you should live each day to the fullest because tomorrow is not guaranteed. I don't want to come to the end of my life and say, "I should have..." and I raise my children to embrace the same. I further realize that I could "protect" my children with every ounce of my being and they could still have a life changing accident without the life experiences.

With all of that said, what brings me to today's post is Jack. Jack Jablonski. He has a CaringBridge site that has over 10,000 hits in a couple of days. His Facebook wall is filled with well wishes and prayers. But what I found the most touching was reading the almost 500 guestbook entries. Sure, there were a lot from friends and family but there were also posts from hockey players and parents from all over that heard the news...complete strangers. Complete strangers who are united by a sport and are sending prayers and positive thoughts. So, this is me...spreading the word because I believe there is force in numbers and sending support, positive thoughts and energy to Jack and his family, Leslie, Mike and Max.