The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Ninety-Two - Chelsea Dagger

PART NINETY-TWO: CHELSEA DAGGER

Hockey is one of the most bittersweet things in the world to me. The way the players glide so gracefully across the ice, the miraculous angles of some of the shots, the scraping sounds of the skates…it’s such a beautiful sport. Unfortunately, it’s also dangerous. The slamming of players into the boards, the drop of the gloves that sometimes ends in unnecessary bloodshed…the violence can be too much sometimes. I’ve had the injuries, I’ve seen them, and ever since I got my trainer job, I’ve helped heal them. But when it happens to a loved one or a friend or your husband, it’s so much worse than usual.

A few weeks after Valentine’s Day, when everything had been so perfect, I witnessed a big injury for the Blackhawks. Nothing really bad had happened to any players in a while, so I guess it was just a matter of time. It happened at the United Center, during a game against Florida. Petrovic of the Panthers gave Kane a shove, and he slipped and fell, slamming hard into the boards. He got up slowly, but he was doubled over and clutching his chest as he made his way back to the bench. He was in a lot of pain, and I could tell that it was an upper body issue. I sped over to him and immediately asked a stupid question.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. It hurts,” he muttered. I wasn’t expecting much more from him. Another trainer joined me in guiding him back to the locker room - he needed immediate attention. We questioned him and got him out of some of his padding to take a closer look at his chest. As it turned out, it was his clavicle. His left clavicle was fractured, and he’d have to have surgery. Not only that, but he’d be out for a while to let it heal - probably about twelve weeks - which meant putting him on injury reserve.

“Twelve weeks? That’s a lot of hockey that I’m going to be missing out on. I’m going to miss the start of playoffs!” That night, Patrick was already freaking out about his absence from the team. Typical Pat.

“I know it’s a lot, but you need time to heal. If anything, the team is just going to work harder to make up for you being gone. Don’t worry about it,” I insisted. “You should get some sleep. You’re getting surgery tomorrow, remember?”

We both went to bed much earlier than usual that night. The next day was his surgery, which thankfully went well. He was still in pain, though, and his range of motion was very limited. He couldn’t lift his arm much, and he wasn’t really supposed to yet. He was given some exercises to do to help with the healing process, but for the first few weeks, they weren’t very strenuous. Either way, it was my job to help him and make sure he did them. 

I definitely didn’t have trouble staying busy. Even though I had to keep an eye on Patrick and help him out, I still had to go to work. That meant traveling with the team, too. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t the only trainer, so Brad was able to give me a break every once in a while so I didn’t go on every road trip - especially when they involved being away for more than a couple of days. I was still involved in most practices and games, though, and I was constantly updating Coach Q and the rest of the trainers on Pat’s situation. 

“How are you feeling today?” I asked as I came back from practice one afternoon. At that point, Pat had been out for only a couple weeks, so his range of motion was still limited. 

“Alright. Better, now that you’re back,” he replied.

“Oh, stop,” I grinned. “I brought lunch home. I know McDonalds isn’t much, but it sounded kind of good to me.” I set the bag and drinks down on the coffee table in front of him.

“I’m always up for a burger and fries. Thanks, Lean.” 

“No problem. God, I’m hungry. I should have had breakfast before I left this morning,” I realized as I hung up my coat and joined Patrick on the couch.