Most Wednesdays I like to play noon-hour drop-in hockey. There’s a rink only minutes away from our Bellingham office, and a good bunch of guys who play there …
Today was a great game, lots of people, a couple of shifters, and a high tempo. No goalies, unfortunately.
I was just starting to think about leaving the ice and getting back to work when I and a winger on the other team both went for a puck along the boards. He tried to lift my stick and missed it. But his stick continued its upward trajectory … at least until it intersected my face.
More specifically, my mouth.
Well. That turned out to be my last shift. Blood on my face, blood in my mouth, blood on my jersey, blood on the ice. Yum.
After getting off the ice, I got some gauze, bandages, and ice from the office. Managed to stop the bleeding enough to have a real quick shower, which started it up again, and then stopped it again so I could get dressed and out the door.
I needed to go up to our Langley office, so I thought I’d drop into an Aldergrove medical clinic on my way. Unfortunately, they don’t do stitches, so I had to go to MSA hospital in Abbotsford instead.
Two hours in emergency and 4 stiches later, I was at home with a fat – but no longer split – lip and 2 slightly loose teeth.
Ah well. As the guy who I passed by on my way out of the rink said: “war wounds.”