December 31, 2015 was supposed to be the best day of Denna Laing’s life. Laing, a forward on the Boston Pride of the NWHL was set to take to the ice in the first Outdoor Women’s Classic at Gillette Stadium against Les Canadiennes of the CWHL.
Like the rest of her teammates, she got dressed at their home rink and took the bus to the stadium. She took in the atmosphere and called it “It was the most beautiful hockey rink I’ve ever seen”. The most beautiful rink she had ever seen could also be the site of the last time she laces up the skates to play the game she loved.
It’s not exactly known what caused Laing to crash into the boards behind a goal where she laid on the ice for several minutes. There hasn’t been any video or photo of the incident and this isn’t the place to speculate and draft theories. She was taken off a stretcher and remained in a hospital for several days. There was little to no news about Laing that was reported in the first week after she entered the hospital. The 24-year-old’s family, teammates, and friends remained quiet, hoping for the best. There was a GoFundMe page created but then taken down at the request of her family.
Her parents Jerilyn and Dennis Lang spoke for the first time January 8 and reading their statement would send shivers through anyone who would read it.
”Tragically, Denna suffered a severe spinal cord injury playing the sport she loves. As of today, Denna has limited movement of her arms and no feeling in her legs. Our prayer going forward is that Denna can be moved from the Intensive Care Unit to a Rehabilitation Center and continue to fight everyday with her trademark grit and resolve. With respect to her long term prognosis, right now there are more questions than answers.
”We have received an incredible outpouring of love and support from countless friends and family members while we try to navigate this overwhelming situation. We are eternally grateful to everyone who continues to offer support as we take on this challenge together.”
Two days later, Laing posted to Facebook for the first time since she entered the hospital.
For a long time I have been looking for a new challenge. Even though I was not expecting it be this, here we go. Lets…
Posted by The Denna Laing Team on Sunday, January 10, 2016
Laing had the opportunity to play in this game due several top players from the Pride participating in the USWNT Winter Camp. One day she would go from working as a witness victim advocate at the Essex district attorney’s office and the next her life would completely change. Like she said in her Facebook post “I have been looking for a new challenge. Even though I was not expecting it be this, here we go”.
She has posted to Facebook just about everyday this last week with various updates on her progress. She has been incredibly positive after what has happened to her, and that’s something we need to recognize. She’s bringing up positive topics such as teamwork, receiving cards and balloons, to having Dunkin Donuts for the first time in two weeks. The would could be a better place if we had more positive people facing adversity like Laing in our lives.
When ya girl gets Dunkin for the first time in 2 weeks #rehabbingondunkin #refreshed @DunkinDonuts @TheBostonPride pic.twitter.com/8EbH0V5iqJ
— Denna Laing (@dlaing14) January 13, 2016
There has been an avalanche of support for Laing from the hockey universe. Boston Bruins star Patrice Bergeron is having a raffle where the winner receives tickets to an upcoming game against Anaheim in his personal suite (12 tickets, including food) to assist in raising funds for recovery. Actor and Boston native Mark Wahlberg tweeted his support.
Praying for our Boston hockey hero Denna Laing. Let’s help her at https://t.co/oJL3pnXT2x #2denna4ever
— Mark Wahlberg (@mark_wahlberg) January 10, 2016
As of Thursday, she has been making improvements breathing and talking. She’s also beginning the rehabilitation progress which could take a long time. From Facebook:
Also, I’m making improvements in terms of breathing and talking. The biggest thing now is that I no longer have a blue humidifier tube attached to me. After working with speech and language I went and worked with physical and occupational therapist. They did a lot of tests on my arms and rated my muscle movements, got a lot of 0’s but a few 2’s (It’s a start)! Today, I also got to wear real clothes for the first time. I decided to wear my new t-shirt that was given to me from my new friend, Lucas Carr. He came into the ICU one of my first nights there and gave me this t-shirt. Lucas was the nicest guy, a fireman stationed across the street from the hospital, who just wanted to say hello and he didn’t even know me. I was given a tour of the rehab facility that I will call home for now. I found this new building to be very impressive, but what I found most impressive were the tiles saved from the gym ceiling of the older rehab building that now hang on the walls of this fantastic new facility. They were used as inspiration to patients to continue and never give up. Though the location of the tiles are different, the meaning stays the same. I’ve had a sign in my room at home for awhile now that says “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, It’s about learning to dance in the rain”. For now everyday for me may be a little rainy, but it isn’t going to cloud my focus and effort to get better every day no matter what the size of the gains are, large or small. I want to thank everyone again for all the well wishes and prayers, it really does make a difference!
Please feel free to send any phrases or words of encouragement that help you get through some of your difficult times.
Love,
XO Denna
If you wish to follow Denna’s progress or to donate, please visit DennaLaing.org.
