I donate whenever I can, I donated every single extra penny I have this month to the Canucks For Kids Fund in pledges for Todays scrabble tournament. Have an extra few dollars? do the same.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bringing A Smile
When I lived in Vancouver and they would play clips like this during intermissions and such at games I would be the girl in the stands openly crying. I'm usually the tough one, but when it comes to kids in the hospital I'm a complete mess. Today, I just leave you with this.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Play Me That Ballard
Friday, February 18, 2011
Feeling Scared And Lonely
I’ve mentioned before that I have 2 young children. I have a son who is 2 and a daughter who is about to turn 3, they were born10 ½ months apart. For the most part they have been healthy but I have had scares with both of them. My daughter with her heart, and my son with sever anaemia requiring hospitalization.
When my daughter was 3 weeks old, I took her for her regular check up. I had to take the bus, as I don’t drive and my boyfriends and his parents had to work. On the bus rides there she was a little fussy, but she was a new born and I thought nothing of it really. We went through the regular check up and the doctor was saying she was doing great, until she listened to her heart. Her heart was beating at 230 beats a minute, a regular newborn’s heart beats between 140-160 beats per minute. The doctor then informed me that I had to take her to the hospital. Being new to the city and having taken the bus I had no idea what to do. She then listened to her heart again and told me she was calling an ambulance. First time parent, all alone, I have never been so scared in my life. The ambulance came, they ran my daughter through the busy waiting room of the paediatricians office, all eyes were on me and I forgot half my stuff there. When we got to the hospital, I was all alone as my boyfriend and his mom were still an hour away. I had to fill out paper work and could hear my baby screaming from across the emergency room. At that time her heart was over 300 beats per minute. Now parents, imagine having gone through that alone, to walk into the room your baby is in and see them placing a bag of ice over her face? Scary thought….and it gets worse. That didn’t do what it was supposed to, so next thing I heard? “ well then, we are going to have to stop her heart and restart it”.. Im sorry, WHAT?!?!. Finally the paramedic that had brought her in, one of the nicest guys I had ever met, came up to me to explain everything that was going on. I felt a little better, but still felt scared and alone. They ended up giving her some medication first which thankfully slowed her heart rate down. By the end of it all, my daughter was released that night, with medication to control something called Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. I won’t go into the details, but it is explained here . She has since been ‘cleared’ but it can still return at any time, which is still pretty scary.
A few months ago my son started chewing through the wood on his crib, the wood on cupboards, wooden spoons, any wood he could get his hands on. I took him to our new family doctor, her response, in a thick German accent was ‘ oh typical Canadian, a beaver”. I specifically asked her if it could be Pica disease, she said no. I wasn’t satisfied with this and took him to a walk in doctor, who basically said the same thing. I finally took him to a third doctor and begged until he reluctantly filled out the paper work to send him for blood work. However, that weekend we were out of town, and then he stopped eating wood. I completely forgot about the blood work. A few weeks ago he started chewing on plastic, but I attributed it to getting the last of his teeth in and didn’t give it much thought. Last week he got a cold, wasn’t eating very much and was kind of weak, but I just figured it was because of the cold. I was giving him quite a bit of milk, because he was asking for it and I figured it was better then nothing since he wasn’t eating. Wrong. On Sunday morning I took him for blood work and within 4 hours I had a call telling me to get him to Emergency, that his hemoglobin levels were at 48, when they should be around 125. We got him to emergency and after a few hours of waiting in the waiting room (I despise Alberta Health by the way), we were brought into the pediatric ER and given a very small cubical of a room. They ran more blood work, told me to stop giving him milk and hooked him up to all sorts of monitors. Turns out he did indeed have Pica Disease because of sever anaemia which was partly because of all the milk he was drinking blocking his iron intake. Let me tell you keeping a scared 2 year old within a confined space, unable to really move because of all the monitors he was connected to, is a hard task.
My boyfriend was able to come visit, but he had to be home for our daughter as well. While it was only from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon, it was the longest days of my life. My son was cranky the whole time obviously, and I was extremely lonely. For the times we were left alone I was either fighting with him or crying while watching him sleep, completely blaming myself for what had happened.. I had a few books with me but when he was asleep wanted to keep the lights off so he would be as rested as possible and Children’s Hospital is one of the only places without internet in patient rooms. Thankfully I do have twitter and face book on my blackberry which allowed me some interaction.
I have to give a huge shout out to “Hockey Wife”, I don’t know her name, and even if I did I wouldn’t tell you but we were able to have some conversation via twitter and it helped keep me sane. Check out her blog , an insightful look into the other half of hockey players. Another big shout out to Eric Johnson, the guy who pimps Homicide Luke’s Character on the tv show Rookie Blue (He's awesome…even if he is an Oiler's fan. Give him a follow on twitter ). Thanks for taking the time to ask how my son was, and have little chats, it meant the world to me at a time I felt completely and utterly alone. To everyone else who messaged me or tried to call as well, thank you (specifically Candy and Martin). To those who didn't, its amazing how fast I've figured out who my true friends are.
I’ve rambled on long enough that you’re probably wondering how this has anything to do with hockey eh? Well, I’ve always had huge respect for the players when I see them visiting children and families at places like BC’s Children’s Hospital and Canuck Place. That has grown even more now. I can not even begin to imagine what it feels like to be a parent and know that either your child is not going to get better, or not knowing exactly what is wrong. After being scared, and alone in hospital with my child I can see how something like a little visit from these players would brighten my day, as well as my child’s (if he was a little older I think). In my time in the hospital I heard of 2 children that did not make it through the night, I felt horrible even though I never even saw them. So, from even another point of view, I have no idea how the players go into these hospitals, see what they see, and manage to keep a smile on their faces. For the ones with children themselves I imagine it must be extremely hard. Words can not express how much appreciation and respect I have for these players and what they are able to do off ice.
On a much smaller less important note, not having the internet meant that I could not watch the Canucks game on the Monday. In the grand scheme of things, it really didn't matter. However, if there had been internet I would of been able to watch it while my son slept, and perhaps relax a little even though the game did not go that well.
When my daughter was 3 weeks old, I took her for her regular check up. I had to take the bus, as I don’t drive and my boyfriends and his parents had to work. On the bus rides there she was a little fussy, but she was a new born and I thought nothing of it really. We went through the regular check up and the doctor was saying she was doing great, until she listened to her heart. Her heart was beating at 230 beats a minute, a regular newborn’s heart beats between 140-160 beats per minute. The doctor then informed me that I had to take her to the hospital. Being new to the city and having taken the bus I had no idea what to do. She then listened to her heart again and told me she was calling an ambulance. First time parent, all alone, I have never been so scared in my life. The ambulance came, they ran my daughter through the busy waiting room of the paediatricians office, all eyes were on me and I forgot half my stuff there. When we got to the hospital, I was all alone as my boyfriend and his mom were still an hour away. I had to fill out paper work and could hear my baby screaming from across the emergency room. At that time her heart was over 300 beats per minute. Now parents, imagine having gone through that alone, to walk into the room your baby is in and see them placing a bag of ice over her face? Scary thought….and it gets worse. That didn’t do what it was supposed to, so next thing I heard? “ well then, we are going to have to stop her heart and restart it”.. Im sorry, WHAT?!?!. Finally the paramedic that had brought her in, one of the nicest guys I had ever met, came up to me to explain everything that was going on. I felt a little better, but still felt scared and alone. They ended up giving her some medication first which thankfully slowed her heart rate down. By the end of it all, my daughter was released that night, with medication to control something called Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. I won’t go into the details, but it is explained here . She has since been ‘cleared’ but it can still return at any time, which is still pretty scary.
A few months ago my son started chewing through the wood on his crib, the wood on cupboards, wooden spoons, any wood he could get his hands on. I took him to our new family doctor, her response, in a thick German accent was ‘ oh typical Canadian, a beaver”. I specifically asked her if it could be Pica disease, she said no. I wasn’t satisfied with this and took him to a walk in doctor, who basically said the same thing. I finally took him to a third doctor and begged until he reluctantly filled out the paper work to send him for blood work. However, that weekend we were out of town, and then he stopped eating wood. I completely forgot about the blood work. A few weeks ago he started chewing on plastic, but I attributed it to getting the last of his teeth in and didn’t give it much thought. Last week he got a cold, wasn’t eating very much and was kind of weak, but I just figured it was because of the cold. I was giving him quite a bit of milk, because he was asking for it and I figured it was better then nothing since he wasn’t eating. Wrong. On Sunday morning I took him for blood work and within 4 hours I had a call telling me to get him to Emergency, that his hemoglobin levels were at 48, when they should be around 125. We got him to emergency and after a few hours of waiting in the waiting room (I despise Alberta Health by the way), we were brought into the pediatric ER and given a very small cubical of a room. They ran more blood work, told me to stop giving him milk and hooked him up to all sorts of monitors. Turns out he did indeed have Pica Disease because of sever anaemia which was partly because of all the milk he was drinking blocking his iron intake. Let me tell you keeping a scared 2 year old within a confined space, unable to really move because of all the monitors he was connected to, is a hard task.
My boyfriend was able to come visit, but he had to be home for our daughter as well. While it was only from Sunday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon, it was the longest days of my life. My son was cranky the whole time obviously, and I was extremely lonely. For the times we were left alone I was either fighting with him or crying while watching him sleep, completely blaming myself for what had happened.. I had a few books with me but when he was asleep wanted to keep the lights off so he would be as rested as possible and Children’s Hospital is one of the only places without internet in patient rooms. Thankfully I do have twitter and face book on my blackberry which allowed me some interaction.
I have to give a huge shout out to “Hockey Wife”, I don’t know her name, and even if I did I wouldn’t tell you but we were able to have some conversation via twitter and it helped keep me sane. Check out her blog , an insightful look into the other half of hockey players. Another big shout out to Eric Johnson, the guy who pimps Homicide Luke’s Character on the tv show Rookie Blue (He's awesome…even if he is an Oiler's fan. Give him a follow on twitter ). Thanks for taking the time to ask how my son was, and have little chats, it meant the world to me at a time I felt completely and utterly alone. To everyone else who messaged me or tried to call as well, thank you (specifically Candy and Martin). To those who didn't, its amazing how fast I've figured out who my true friends are.
I’ve rambled on long enough that you’re probably wondering how this has anything to do with hockey eh? Well, I’ve always had huge respect for the players when I see them visiting children and families at places like BC’s Children’s Hospital and Canuck Place. That has grown even more now. I can not even begin to imagine what it feels like to be a parent and know that either your child is not going to get better, or not knowing exactly what is wrong. After being scared, and alone in hospital with my child I can see how something like a little visit from these players would brighten my day, as well as my child’s (if he was a little older I think). In my time in the hospital I heard of 2 children that did not make it through the night, I felt horrible even though I never even saw them. So, from even another point of view, I have no idea how the players go into these hospitals, see what they see, and manage to keep a smile on their faces. For the ones with children themselves I imagine it must be extremely hard. Words can not express how much appreciation and respect I have for these players and what they are able to do off ice.
On a much smaller less important note, not having the internet meant that I could not watch the Canucks game on the Monday. In the grand scheme of things, it really didn't matter. However, if there had been internet I would of been able to watch it while my son slept, and perhaps relax a little even though the game did not go that well.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Christmas is over...
and by that I really mean Hockey Day In Canada. Aside from Canada Day, I think HDIC is my favourite day fo the year. In fact, when I have my own place I think I will decorate my house for this day. What more can you ask for then a full day of Canadian hockey teams? I watched the Edmonton vs Ottawa game. Missed most of the Toronto at Montreal game and of course caught the Vancouver vs Calgary game. Love all the little stories and everything relating to hockey that is played on CBC on this day. I also realized today that Keith Ballard is my first none Canadian favourite player. (Trevor Linden, Mike Cammalleri, Alex Burrows and Dan Hamhuis)
Big Thanks to Scotia Bank for the awesome contests through the week on twitter, and for allowing me to win that jersey. Pretty cool!. They also sent a toque, a backpack and a water bottle, which my soon to be 3 year old daughter has taken over.
Thats right folks, Kevin Bieksa wins After Hours. He has got to be the BEST interview I have ever seen on there. It can be found here. The way he reacted to Scott Oake's comments with cheekiness and sarcasm was great, and he always gave good answers to the serious questions. Which is why I've always said if there is one player I could sit down and have a beer with, it would be him. When I saw Bieksa would be a guest I had some thoughts go through my head. He bugs Ryan Kesler about RK17, so why not when Scott Oake asks on Twitter for questions to ask "When is the KB3 clothing line coming out". I didn't mean this as a serious question, I thought maybe a few of my followers might see it and have a little chuckle and that would be that. Then....it happened. Scott Oake had asked Bieksa about Kesler's line and then he said "well I guess you've answered my next question". I knew then that I was doomed. He asked my absolutely ridiculous question. It led to this outburst
@Canuckgirl16 : JESUS I WASN'T SERIOUS!!!! hahah
@Taryneliza_beth : CHRISTINE!!!!!!!!!!! @Canuckgirl16
Then within seconds I had 10 new followers and people tweeting me saying they had a good laugh over it. Well thats good.
Anyway, thats my mumble jumble for today. All in all it was a great Hockey Day In Canada, and I wont forget it for a long time.
Big Thanks to Scotia Bank for the awesome contests through the week on twitter, and for allowing me to win that jersey. Pretty cool!. They also sent a toque, a backpack and a water bottle, which my soon to be 3 year old daughter has taken over.
Kevin Bieksa Wins After Hours
Thats right folks, Kevin Bieksa wins After Hours. He has got to be the BEST interview I have ever seen on there. It can be found here. The way he reacted to Scott Oake's comments with cheekiness and sarcasm was great, and he always gave good answers to the serious questions. Which is why I've always said if there is one player I could sit down and have a beer with, it would be him. When I saw Bieksa would be a guest I had some thoughts go through my head. He bugs Ryan Kesler about RK17, so why not when Scott Oake asks on Twitter for questions to ask "When is the KB3 clothing line coming out". I didn't mean this as a serious question, I thought maybe a few of my followers might see it and have a little chuckle and that would be that. Then....it happened. Scott Oake had asked Bieksa about Kesler's line and then he said "well I guess you've answered my next question". I knew then that I was doomed. He asked my absolutely ridiculous question. It led to this outburst
@Canuckgirl16 : JESUS I WASN'T SERIOUS!!!! hahah
@Taryneliza_beth : CHRISTINE!!!!!!!!!!! @Canuckgirl16
Then within seconds I had 10 new followers and people tweeting me saying they had a good laugh over it. Well thats good.
Anyway, thats my mumble jumble for today. All in all it was a great Hockey Day In Canada, and I wont forget it for a long time.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
We Will Always Have Dan Cloutier
Everything in my life has some sort of hockey relation
In October of 2010, my Auntie Diane died and I was heart broken, she was the most amazing lady ever. In December of 2010 her husband, my Uncle Norm died. I've never hurt more, I still rarely have a day where I don't break down when I think about them. They raised their own kids, then fostered countless others, my uncle was a truck driver until the very minute he died. This is my open letter to them
Uncle Norm and Auntie Diane,
Words can not express how much I miss you guys.
Uncle Norm, Id give anything, ANYTHING, for one more of your amazing hugs. The endless stories you told of things that happened in your life never failed to amaze me, everyone who I have ever talked to has been told at least one of them I think. I love the Starvation Army one the best, if I'm having a bad day, I just have to say "Starvation Army" to myself and I will make myself laugh. I honestly wish I could of spent more time with you, writing down the stories as you told them and making them into a book, I think everybody would of loved them. One of my biggest regrets is not getting in contact with you after Auntie Diane died, to tell you how much I loved you and missed you.
Auntie Diane, you are the most amazing person I have ever have and I don't think anyone I will ever meet from this point forward can compare. You were always there to listen, to give a truthful opinion and help out in any way possible. I will always cherish all the late night talks we had on facebook, where no matter what, you always helped me think positive of even the worst situation. No matter what I said, how pissed off I was, how much I swore, you always made me feel better with the simple words ' you know I love ya, kiddo'. You are the one of the only people I have ever felt comfortable talking about absolutely anything to. One of my favourite recent memories was when I posted this sentence I had just read out of Hockey: A Peoples History:
"The One-eyed Mcgee retired (from playing hockey) to a job where vision clearly wasn't necessary: he became a referee"I remember how hard you laughed at that. Then, even though it was late at night, had to call Uncle Norm while he was on the road and tell him. Of course then to, even though it was just a quick little conversation you said "love ya, Kiddo".
No matter what way I try to look at it, I will NEVER understand your love for Dan Cloutier. I have to admit now though, thinking back to our back and forth banter and teasing regarding Dan Cloutier and Kevin Weekes, those names will stick with me for the rest of my life. You've got the best seat in the house now to watch every Canucks game played.
I love you guys like crazy, and will always make sure my kids know everything possible about you guys.
Christine
I was unable to make it their funerals. At my Aunt's funeral I had this read on my behalf:
"Auntie Diane was the most amazing person I have ever met. She saw good in everybody no matter how bad they were. I know this because she was a Dan Cloutier Fan.
Then my Uncle Norm was presented with a Dan Cloutier Plaque. He kept it until he died, and now I have it back again and will cherish it, as much as I hate to cherish anything Dan Cloutier, forever.
So Uncle Norm and Auntie Diane, I'd just like to let you know that We Will Always Have Dan Cloutier.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Dear Keith (part 2)
I Promise to be serious next post.
(yes I am aware he will never read this)
Dear Keith,It is my understanding you are some what of a prankster and loved the *idea* of your prank on Kevin Bieksa. However, the hilarity of the failure may have been funnier then if the prank ever worked out. I wish there was more pictures of it, or more were released anyway . We need to change this, or get more of your stories out there. I just wanted to let you know we can team up, Im only 5 feet tall, I can fit almost anywhere. We can also try out some of the other pranks that have been made up for you. Let me know, you’ll be out my way in April.
Sincerely,
Your shortest blogging fan
p.s. Kevin's pranks, as I see it, are pretty lame, he needs to step it up as well.
In all seriousness if I met him, I'd probably fall over. I'm the girl that puked after meeting Matt Cooke, who was my favourite player at the time. (I feel the need to make it clear he is no longer anywhere near my list of favourite players.) I Had a panic attack when meeting Markus Naslund and refused to talk to Mattias Ohlund once. Hell, Squire Barnes used to come to my work quite often and I could barely tell him how much his total was. Yup, that’s me, the shyest person you will ever meet. I won't even tell you the story of meeting one of my favourite actors, I was horrible.(Eric, if you're reading this, I want a do over. Maybe one that includes beer and hockey, I promise not to make you watch Joffrey Lupul and the rest of the Leafs). I find it stupid and it's embarrassing but can’t help it, they are just regular people like you and I. When I was younger I dreamt of being the next “Shorty”, a female version, that never happened. I never believed in myself enough or got over my anxiety. Instead I write this nonsense and faintly dream of what could have been.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Uh-oh
I may be having some issues here, I was thinking about the stuff I've written here and the Canucks games that have followed since then.
- I make a blog, use the name Ballard. Less then a week later, Keith Ballard gets injured.
- I write about Dan Hamhuis and his community work. That night he gets, what looks to be, injured.
- I have mentioned Ryan Kesler a few times, I am scared for him.
- I am even more scared for Kevin Bieksa. I've mentioned him a few times and he's a Canucks Defenceman, and we all know how thats going.
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