With the immediate and unfiltered nature of my blogging attempts, my hearty band of dedicated readers (hello, you gorgeous people, you) get the full intensity of my moods. Of course, since I blog when I’m in the midst of some sort of event or crisis, this also means that you get a skewed perception of my overall mental state. Most of the time, I am a pretty calm and balanced person, despite my wailing and railing in electronic form. I think that most people go through the same swing of emotions, especially when stressful life situations come up. Then again, I may be fully exhibiting symptoms of a variety of psychological maladies. I don’t think I am, but if you’re ever sure that I have gone fully around the bend, flag me down and have a talk with me. Most of the time, though, treating this blog as a confessional/diary seems to help in the process of understanding and dealing with my peculiarities, so I appreciate your patience while I get my brain in order.
Speaking of emotional moments, I was surprised to find out that the return of Sidney Crosby meant so much to me. For those readers who don’t know, Sid is a very talented Canadian hockey player, possibly the best of his generation, and he has been unable to play the game that he is so good at for the last 10 months, due to concussion symptoms. For the last few months, I have been trying not to consider what it must feel like to be unable to pursue your dream, and possibly have to give it up for good because it might kill you. The image of Sidney sitting in a dark room, unable to endure even watching tv because of the headaches and other associated concussion symptoms, weighed heavily on my mind. so when his return to the sport was confirmed on sunday, I was thrilled. even the pre-game footage of Sidney getting ready to play brought a little tear to my eye. I was also worried for him, and for the first few minutes of the game, I held my breath and hoped that he wouldn’t get that one fateful hit that would send him back off the ice, this time for good. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Hopefully, I’ll stop worrying about the state of his brain, and go back to enjoying him displaying his gift for the game.
Chris Loblaw, Author 
I think your fear and concern was certainly warranted. For those who don’t know a concussion is “nice word” for a Brain Injury. Given the fact your wife works at a place who supports individuals who have acquired a brain injury (ABI), and you’ve heard the stories of people fighting to regain “normalcy” or even deal with the results of their injuries, you have some idea of the havoc it reeks in a person’s life. Brain’s don’t just heal like a bone, they have to relearn in new ways what they use to be able to do, while hoping the damaged cells don’t misfire and cause other problems. An then add on that concussion after concussion is often what causes major damage that becomes visible to players and eventually the public.
Yes, I hope that everyone can enjoy the game and forget Sid has an ABI, but I hope they can find a way to make this game safer.