Anyone here playing with a disability?

[english15x 3]

Great to hear about all these folks playing hockey for the love of it despite the disabilities.

1) My girlfriend's little brother looks up to me and started playing hockey but has type 2 diabetes and needs to have a water and sports drink with him on the bench.

2) Guy in my beer league has a cyst on his head and can't wear a helmet. He had to sign a waiver to play.

3) There is a great group in the area for disabled hockey. Yesterday something pleasant was faxed to me at work about a charity game. The Mighty Pens(disabled sled hockey team) vs the Fox Chapel Foxes High School Varsity team on sleds. It was a fund raiser game. I thought it was really nice having a team of non-disabled players suit up on sleds and play for fun against the sled team.

Sled Hockey State Champs - Pittsburgh Mighty Penguins

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=CO339ckFBbw

[DCott 0]

sled hockey is great. When I played youth hockey, the Boston Blades used to have practice after ours, it was fun to stay and watch a bit. Those guys are really good.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=MeiC-0M6Er4

[D aka speck 0]

This thread is great. I have several stories about people that are close to me with "disabilities". Some good, some bad. :(

I won't get into all of that.

It is nice to hear stories about perseverence. Thank you all!

[Lufria 1]

I seriously can't believe some of these guys are out there playing with previously broken backs, one near and one far sighted eye, brutal asthma... damn. Pain I have learned to deal with and spotty coordination just is what it is but phantom pucks? No air? And, dude, welcome back from Iraq -- looks like a difference is being made over there (if you wanted to militarily overthrow the Bettman regime you'd have my full support.)

Count me in for the Asthsma. I'm so bad that if i forget my inhaler that i literaterly cannot skate any strides or whatnot. It's mostly triggered by exercise and cold...not a good combo for hockey. But i love the game, and as long as i take care of myself, i should be good.

I once had a game where i pushed myself past the point of safe and ended up collapsing on the floor in Michigan. (Inline hockey) Learned a very hard lesson there.

[Steve_v3 289]

I was diagnosed with a liver disease (Primary sclerosing cholangitis) when I was 21.

PSC Liver disease

I didn't have to many problems due to the PSC until a couple years ago.

I would get fatigued quickly and started to lose some of my strength. I had a liver transplant June 20, 2007. I started playing again in December 23, 2007.

Some people thought I returned to soon, but my doctors gave me a green light.

So far it has gone very good. The best is when people see my scar for the first time and can't believe that I'm playing.

I played with Tom Poti of the caps when he was in Jr high and he has severe food allergies. He carries a syringe filled with epinephrine at all times.

In college Poti had a bad reaction when his roomate had eaten peanut butter and he got a trace amount of it from grabbing the doorknob.

Tom Poti

[Bravada 442 0]

In college Poti had a bad reaction when his roomate had eaten peanut butter and he got a trace amount of it from grabbing the doorknob.

Tom Poti

It was actually a telephone receiver that he picked up, but still, that is a crazy story to be that allergic to something that just touching it can send you into a severe allergic reaction.

[Steve_v3 289]

My bad, I heard the story second hand.

[sickwilly 37]

Had an old beer league teammate who skated with a prosthetic lower leg and foot. Great guy, not a great skater for sure... but you wouldn't have known he was missing much of one leg.

[thejackal 46]

I was coaching at a peewee tournament and one kid on another team was playing with a glass eye. Very talented player physically, but obviously it handicapped his hockey sense a lot.

[interpathway 9]

Again not really a disability as such, but I am type 1 diabetic. Only impact to hockey is having to check blood sugars are OK so I don't flake out mid/post game and ensure I eat the right thing after hockey.

Ditto on that. I've bottomed out and it's not a good feeling.

Ugh, not as bad as playing when your blood sugars feel high though, right? I don't think I've ever been terribly low on the ice, but I hate playing when I know my BS levels are over 200.