Some Pics of the Final Days

Typical Goalie stance.

Sweet Blade Tape we were given!!

Bree's Sad face. She is the reason I scored many of my goals, don't feel bad, she had her share;)

Smile like you're happy Sarah!

Beth the blogger tweeting in her sleep likely!

Frankie and I. My favorite game in the last couple days was to try to be offside whenever she skated across the blue line. It was to make up for all the time we spent waiting for her to be onside;)

Tash and Jamie, a couple of refs and our Bootcamp leaders.

A typically sad looking bench.

Post our last midnight shift we had a couple beers. Good times, wish we could have afforded more of them.

Some locker room fun after the game. All we needed was a cup to drink from;)

It's OVER!!!!! White 1300 and some to Red Almost 1000

I know it seems weird that I don't know the final score but no one really cares who was actually there. Took me a week or so to stop caring, but then it really didn't matter, a big step for me. This attitude was best reflected when the final final buzzer went. It felt like we had won a championship, but not just the white team, all of us. There were no camera shots of the red team with their heads between their hands trying to hide the tears, nope, just a big mosh pit of red and white swarming the red goalie with hugs all around and tears of joy and exhaustion from both teams. Myself included.

To back it up a bit my last shift was a fun one, a good group of girls and a red goalie out to have some fun. I practiced my spin-a-rama move a good dozen times, including on a penalty shot (totally set up by the red team) till I finally scored on it! That rounded out a tipped in out of the air goal and a wrap around. Never did get that top shelf shot down:) After the shift about 10 of us went upstairs and drank a couple of beers, ate (of course) and generally just hung out like normal people. Then just to give a little energy to the 12-4 am shift we ran into the rink and mooned them. Twice.

7am came all too soon but we just had to push through until 930 when the benches started to fill up. At that point someone must have hit the 'TURBO' switch cause the game picked up and was the fastest it had been in probably about 9 days. Was great to be able to play with some people that I hadn't crossed paths with over the 10 days and to see some energy and smiles on faces on the bench. For once there was someone to fist pump with when you got to the bench;) When the record was met at 10 am we were all pretty stoked but knew the end wasn't here yet so left a little in the tank.

We had a red carpet ceremony at 10 where I was chosen to do the ceremonial puck drop for the white team with Eva Markvoorts Dad dropping the puck. Eva passed away last March and was the spokesperson for the event, as well as having done much to raise awareness about CF and organ donation through the documentary 65redroses. So fanfare over we got back to business and had another 65 minutes of hockey to play - not a coincidence the 65 minutes.

When that final final buzzer went though it was amazing, the crowd was so loud, the DJ was playing something good I'm sure (but I couldn't hear it) and we tossed our equipment away, people threw 65 red roses onto the ice and we skated in a circle as one big team. And of course the media circus was present to capture it all. Afterwards we hit the showers and drank the champagne donated to us and waiting in the locker rooms! The party while short was a great ending to the morning.

The afternoon however was where things went downhill.

I came out from the party just before 1 pm to see that the RV I had been staying in, with all of my stuff in it, was gone and there was no sign of my stuff. Any of it. After sounding the alarms, and about 30 minutes passing most of it was located in another girls RV (much to her surprise). All except my car and house keys that is. Ya, so here I was toasted, ready for bed, wanting to go home and no way to get there or get in it if I got there. My spare keys were out of town until 830 pm that night! So I ended up hanging around helping to clean up until about 5 pm, going to Chelsea's place with half my stuff, sleeping till 830 there, getting my keys then moving half my stuff over to my place before crashing. Had to pick my car up after work the next day, go pick up the other half of my stuff another player had kindly taken to her place and then haul it all up to my place. Which is where it still sits because last night I fell asleep at 6 pm, about 15 minutes after I got home.

Finally after my 12 hour sleep last night, skipping dinner, do I feel like the fog has lifted from my brain. The back pain, shoulder pain and associated swelling of joints will pass in time too.

So all in all a good experience. Getting even more positive as time passes and my brain function returns;) We won't know for months if the record is official, but I don't think anyone really cares. We raised over $140,000, I raised over $3500. We made it to the front page of the Vancouver Sun, the Metro and the Courier and brought CF to the forefront of the ordinary reader's mind if even only for a day. And that was always the number one goal for everyone involved, red or white.

I'll top this up with some photos and videos when I get home;)

Day 9 - Home Stretch!!! White still has more than Red

Well the drama of the Big Brother situation going on in RV land is heating up! First last night the girl with the concussion sort of snuck on to the ice late last night after being told earlier that she couldn't play. Her doctor cleared her and she felt fine but the lawyer types were worried. Anyhow, she played and that was a surprise to some.


Then today the red team was taking a beating (again) from the white team and the exhaustion and frustration boiled up to the point where they were going to walk off the ice. Just give up. So people all rushed over to A. make sure they were ok and B. get ready to dress just in case they weren't. The 'situation' was resolved by telling the three best white players to pretty much skate in circles. Trap 40 women in a small place and add a competitive environment and you're bound to get some drama.

I had a rough day too. I wasn't having as much fun this morning as I have, and I was tired, as we all are, and I fell a couple of times, and ran into someone pretty good so was beat up. Anyhow, just had to avoid people for a bit on the ice and keep skating. Exhaustion can make you not be yourself. As Dory would say "just keep swimming", or skating in our case.

Feeling better mentally now, only one four hour shift to go, and then a three hour shift tomorrow which should be mostly full bench so will be much easier. Then in a short amount of time it will all be over. It has been quite the experience, and I have made some friends that will last past the final whistle so it was certainly worth it. But man was the weather nice the past 10 days, and sometimes you just think of all the things you could have been doing instead...

Tonight is steak night though, then a massage at 715 to help survive the final four hours! Two great ways to begin the night.

Pics

Day 7-8 White greater than 1000 Red less than 1000

So much for a daily post but seriously people I am le tired.

Only 15 min until I have to be back in the dressing room. This morning I got up to be greeted by a camera man and his endless questions. I had literally rolled out of bed 5 min earlier, was still in my pjs and hadn't even looked in a mirror. Turns out he was from Global NATIONAL. Super, now all my friends and family can see how awesome I look and how much my voice sounds like I need more sleep less sugar and a cup of tea.

All for a good cause right? At least I'm only a temporary celebrity, could be worse.

I can't even remember what I've talked about already but here goes a ramble. People's spirits are dropping. The fatigue the lack of ability to add skill to the game, the fact that it has been going on for over a week, the missing of the outside world are all adding up to a toll on many of the players. For the first time last night on my midnight to 4 am shift people were admitting that they wanted to go home. They were done, the lustre was gone, the abuse on their bodies too much. Being trapped with 39 women they don't really want to be with for this long causing conflicts.

I think what is keeping most people here at this point is the 'team' aspect of it. Knowing that if they leave, they are going to add pain and suffering to everyone else is what keeps people with busted knees, ear infections, screwed up joints and numbness that shouldn't be there on the ice. One girl had a migraine so bad she barfed and 24 hours later she was back on the ice. At least if you are a skating pylon you are allowing someone else to be sleeping or eating you tell yourself. No one wants to be taken to the hospital but so far three have gone, and two have come back on the ice.

I realise the answer to that question should be the cause, CF, but for many girls here they have no direct connection with CF just a love of hockey and a big heart.

My favorite part of the shift is after the zamboni has been by and the ice is so smooth, so effortless to move, so great. I have lost all fascination with the zamboni, I figure I will have seen an ice clear about 80 times before this is over. I think I could do it in my sleep now... Pics to come later... maybe;)

Day 5 and 6 (approx) White 922 - Red 691

The sleep deprivation is totally setting in. I'm exhausted and a bit of a Hockey Playing Zombie. But what else is new. We are now in full on Timbit hockey stage and I am actually able to keep up with my fluids and don't need my groddy sweat towel on the bench anymore. This has happened so that we can survive. We have settled into a pace that is sustainable for 10 days and still resembles hockey. The goalies are all switching out so that their knees can rest, the players are happy to rest their backs. The jokes, banter and laughter on the ice is non stop. We are all having a lot of fun playing, despite the chronic pain that almost everyone is in. I think the complaining is minimal because we are all suffering. For me the back pain is less as the intensity has dropped, especially in my faceoffs, but the skate bite or lace bite whatever you want to call it is worse and hurts all the time when laced up.

The food has been great and plentiful, last night was pork tenderloin mmmm. The midnight snacks are a must for all. I have been sleeping from about 10 pm -330 am the last few nights, rolling out of bed, brushing my teeth on the way to the change room, dressing in a fog, hitting the ice for four and then snacking all morning long. Once you are on the ice it is usually better than how you feel after a few hours off the ice in terms of tiredness. We reached the halfway mark yesterday and I think it will be all downhill from here ya know? No one believes it isn't possible, it's just a matter of enduring now.

We have had a few visitors today. First during our noon to 4 pm shift today a new Dad came by with his 2 month old daughter who has CF. He was really emotional, then Val got really emotional, then before you know it there are all kinds of teary eyed girls trying to get their helmets on before the buzzer goes because the 10 min break is up. We all noticed a little more energy on the ice after that visit.

To contrast that we were also visited my a 52 year old lady today who was diagnosed at 14, had a double lung transplant at 40 and is now winning gold medals in the transplant games for race walking. Hope for the future and recognition of how we can make a difference from the wise.