Page 25 of Open Net

At the game, I should’ve moved. I should’ve gotten out of the way. I should’ve just let them score.

Watching Emma, seeing how tired and drained she was, put a lump in my throat. A stupid point would’ve been worth keeping her happy and out of this miserable place.

Soon a nurse walked in with discharge papers. “You guys are good to go.”

Emma held them out for me while I signed.

“Thank you so much, ” the nurse said before she left. A moment later she was back with a wheelchair and I begrudgingly let her and Emma slide me into it. It was humiliating but unfortunately necessary. I couldn’t walk by myself, but hopefully the wheelchair wouldn’t be necessary for long. Hopefully I’ll be on crutches soon or by some miracle I’d recover without needing either of those. I just wanted to get home. I wanted to see my son, but I felt like a failure. Injured during his first game. It’s a good thing he wouldn’t remember.

7

Emma

This was worse than when Erik injured his MCL last season. He’d been hit and landed wrong on his knee, like Olli, but I knew it the moment Olli hit the ice this was different.

From what I could see on TV, he didn’t move. He knew not to when there was a chance of a major injury. The way Hartman and Erik hoovered over him. Blocking him from the cameras and other team. When the coaches and Nathan walked out onto the ice, I knew. They played it off like it wasn’t too bad. The guys helped Olli off the ice, but I could feel in my bones that his injury was serious.

I’d stood and walked to the kitchen for my keys before the commentators could debate about what happened. Before the refs issued the penalty. Kendall was holding Jackson and simply nodded. “I’ve got him. Just go.”

It wasn’t until I was in my car on the way to the hospital when I realized I hadn’t even considered Jackson. I hadn’t thought about bringing him. All I knew was I needed to get to my husband.

Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to having anyone else to think about. I bit down on my bottom lip. Yeah that was it. Nothing more.

By the time I made it to the hospital and found the floor Olli was on, the doctor had his MRI results. A nurse led me to his room where the doctor was waiting for me.

“Mrs. Letang?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Your husband has torn his ACL.”

I knew it was bad. “How severe?”

His face didn’t hold any hope. “It will be a while before he can get back on the ice.”

I closed my eyes and let that reality sink in. Olli wasn’t going to handle that news well. He’d never been seriously injured. Sure, he missed a few games for a sprain or concussion, but this was different.

“How long?”

The doctor turned away before meeting my eyes again. “Might be the whole season.”

I gasped. That was so much worse than I was expecting. I thought he’d be back by Christmas. The team would be able to survive that long. Games got more serious in the second half of the season. That’s when every point mattered.

But a whole season? There was no way he would accept that.

“It could be less,” the doctor hedged. “You should prepare for the worst case.”

“He will play again, though?”

He nodded, appearing certain. “I have no doubt he will play again. This is a common injury for athletes, but it does have a long recovery time. We will have to be certain he is completely healed before he goes back out. We don’t want permanent damage .”

“Of course.” I took a deep breath. “What’s the next step? Will he need surgery?”

“He will need surgery eventually, but he will need physical therapy first. We can’t do the surgery until the swelling goes down and he has full range of motion in his knee. That will give him the best chance of a full recovery.”

“Okay.”

He placed his hand on my shoulder. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but he will get better, and he will be able to play again. He’s just got to put in the work.”