THE FIGHT I NEVER EXPECTED

I’m sharing this story in hopes that it helps someone listen to their body, stop procrastinating, and realize how important health, relationships, and community truly are before it’s too late.

Three months ago, I went to New York City with my kids for the New York Rangers 100 year anniversary celebration. I was grateful to be included and reconnect with so many great people and memories. Just before all of this happened, I had the opportunity to speak to around 100 anesthesiologists and nurses about mindset, adversity, and perspective. At the time, I had no idea that only a short time later I would be in the hospital myself fighting through one of the biggest challenges of my life.

Life can change fast. During the trip, I started feeling off physically, but honestly thought I was just exhausted or run down. Like many people, I tried to push through it and figured it would pass. When I got home, Cheryl could tell something was not right. She pushed me to go to the hospital and looking back now, Cheryl truly helped save my life along with Dr. T and the medical team. Doctors discovered a serious infection that turned into sepsis. Dr. T later told me that if I waited any longer, I may have only had a couple days left.

The sepsis eventually spread to my mitral valve, which led to open heart surgery. Everything changed fast after that. I spent almost a month in the hospital. There were moments of fear, exhaustion, uncertainty, and times where I could barely communicate. I ended up losing over 30 pounds during the process. After leaving the hospital, I spent another month at home recovering with a midline in my arm for six weeks while continuing treatment and focusing on getting stronger again. People always talk about mental toughness. I would love to tell you I was mentally strong every second through all of this, but that would not be true. What I learned is that sometimes mindset is what keeps you fighting when the body feels exhausted.

One of the biggest reasons I’m sharing this story is because I want to help wake people up so they do not make the same mistake I did. Too many people push through symptoms. Too many people procrastinate. Too many people think they will be fine and ignore signs that something may really be wrong. I almost waited too long. If something feels off, get checked out. Do not keep putting it off thinking it will just pass. Listen to the people around you who care about you.

This experience also taught me there is nothing weak about leaning on others when life gets hard. Cheryl, my kids, my mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, Marty, my doctors, nurses, close friends, former teammates, and so many others carried me through one of the toughest times of my life. My teammates continuously checked in on me throughout the entire experience with support, encouragement, prayers, and messages that meant more than I could ever explain.

Mark Messier said it best when he told me, “You dodged a bullet this time.” That really stayed with me.

There are honestly too many people to thank individually, but this experience reminded me how important community and relationships really are when life gets hard. Dr. T, Dr. Michaels, Dr. Harley, and all the nurses were unbelievable. Their care and support during this fight meant everything to me. Now, three months later, I’m back doing a lot of conditioning and working hard to get myself back into a healthy lifestyle and better shape again. Step by step, I’m rebuilding my strength, gaining my weight back, and continuing to recover.

After everything that happened, I feel more than fortunate to have a second chance at life.

Life threatening moments remove the noise. You stop worrying about small things. You become grateful for simple moments again. Being home. Quiet mornings. Coffee. Time with people you love.

This experience changed my perspective on life, and maybe sharing it can help somebody else before it is too late. I’ll continue sharing stories, experiences, and conversations around mindset, adversity, gratitude, health, relationships, and what really matters in life. Sometimes the hardest moments teach us the most. Discover the limitless potential.

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