Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

[joehockey]

MN Coach Brad Frost shared this Tweet today - "Please pray for former @mnwomenshockey player and Coach Laura Slominski as she has surgery due to a very serious hockey accident."

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lauraslominski

[CrazyDave]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

From the CaringBridge site...

Laura was playing in a lady's hockey game on Sunday night, Sept. 29, when she went hard into the boards, back-first and suffered a C5 fracture in her neck. She is doing well right now and can move both arms and legs and has full feeling in her hands, legs and feet. She is scheduled to under-go surgery on Tuesday, Oct. 1 ... to stabilize her fracture.

Presently, Laura is not allowed visitors other than family and requests that all communication and well-wishes be posted on this site until further notice.

Please keep Laura and her family in your thoughts and prayers as she recovers from her injury.

The latest update is that Slomo is now in surgery, but made a video earlier today at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMgxGccvydU.

[Toothlessinduluth]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

My prayers for a full recovery.

[pgb-ohio]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

The latest update is that Slomo is now in surgery, but made a video earlier today at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMgxGccvydU.

She's in the hospital with a broken neck, yet her main concern is putting the rest of us at ease.

Laura Slominski: Strong and Amazing.

[brookyone]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

http://www.mngirlshockeyhub.com/news...rrer_id=113956

[CrazyDave]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

An update on her CaringBridge site...

Good morning Everyone,

First and foremost thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! All of your messages and kind words have kept a smile on my face and kept me strong. It is humbling to know how much love and support there has been for me and my family during this time. Words can not express how grateful I am.

I know you were kept updated yesterday, but I wanted to make sure I checked in to let everyone know that the surgery was a success and I am feeling great, all things considering. As a lay in bed I constantly think about how lucky and blessed I am, given my injury that I am still able to move and feel everything. My nurses said I must have had a guadian angel watching over me.

It sounds like today I will get to get up and start moving around a bit and will be transferred from icu to the main floor.

Thanks again for everything!

Love, Laura

[CrazyDave]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

The latest directly from Laura on her CaringBridge site.

Today was another day that I was heading in the right direction. I went to physical therapy this morning, I was able to do everything that I needed to do to get checked off by them. I saw the occupational therapist this afternoon, she also cleared me from her end. As of now it looks like I will be going home tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. I know God has been watching over me and I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Love, Laura

I consider this an amazing recovery, though it's obvious that she'll have a very long way to go.

[joehockey]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

WOW OUTSTANDING! She is a great person and glad to see this great outcome and her ability to continue contributing to the advancement of the game! Glad she has had support and prayers from so many.

[CrazyDave]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

I thought it would be good to share the latest from Laura, which she posted this past Wednesday (Oct. 9) on her CaringBridge page.

I have now been home for 5 full days and again couldn't ask for it to be going any better. Kris (Scholz) found people to come over and be with me during the days while she is at school in case I need anything. It has been so nice to catch up with people and to have so much support.

We have also been really enjoying the meals that have been sent home from Richfield, Edina, and other independent people. It has made a huge difference to be able to have food available so we can focus on taking care of the kids and me.

In terms of my recovery, I went back to the doctor today to get my staples removed. I was a little nervous about that not knowing how painful it would be but it actually was very painless and quick. I had Kris take a couple of pictures and I will warn you, they are not pretty. I did not realize how long the scar would be and how intense it was. Having said all of that, it is a very small price to pay to be able to walk away with this with just a pain in my neck, a long recovery, and some ugly scars. I still can not believe how lucky, fortunate, and blessed that I am to be in the situation that I am in. If you would like to see the pictures we will post them under photos on this site.

The other highlight of my day was that I finally got to shower tonight. That might not sound like that big of a deal, but since I was injured in a hockey game, I went to the ER in all of my sweaty hockey equipment. I had been given a couple of sponge baths in my time at the hospital which helped but I was never able to get my hair washed. After 11 days, I am not sure that much could have felt better than begin able to wash my own hair and scrub up with soap! Again, a little thing we take for granted.

People have been more gracious and generous than I could have ever imagined. I keep getting the question of what people can continue to do to support me and all I can say is please keep sending your prayers and thoughts my way as I know God is watching over me and listening to all of the prayers.

A few weeks before I went out school the quote of the day in my precalc class was "Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall but by those who fought, fell, and rose again." I told my classes at that time that this is one of my favorite quotes because at some point we will all face obstacles. I told them that if they have never failed at this point in their life they might need to push themselves a little harder ....but the key is that in life there will be times when you get knocked down but it is the people who fight through it and rise up in the end that will show the true courage that they have.

I can't do anything about the injury I sustained but I do get to choose my attitude every day when I wake up as to how I view my injury and how I am going to progress through my day to help gain as many strides as possible to get to a full recovery,

My advice to everyone else, be thankful every day for even the smallest gifts life has to offer. Today, I went for a walk outside, ate lunch outside under the tree while catching up with an old friend and got to watch my kids play together. I can't imagine a better life than that, regardless of what I am going through.

Love,
Laura

[D2D]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

Thanks, Dave, for posting this update. What a courageous woman Laura is, so positive and inspirational. It makes my own daily troubles seem so trivial, which of course they are compared to the adversity that she's having to overcome. All the best to her...

[pokechecker]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

looks like former Gopher Dean Williamson will be the interim coach in her absence this year:
http://www.edinaschools.org/site/def...512&PageID=728

[CrazyDave]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

looks like former Gopher Dean Williamson will be the interim coach in her absence this year:
http://www.edinaschools.org/site/def...512&PageID=728

Here is a portion of Laura's latest journal entry on her CaringBridge page.

I wanted to take this opportunity to send a message to all coaches: high school, college, and youth coaches of all sports. As I have been reading through the guestbook on here, and have been receiving mail, messages, gifts, and having visits, I have heard from many coaches I have had throughout my life. From all the way back from playing U10 soccer up through my college days of hockey at the University of Minnesota, to coaches I have coached with and against in both the college and high school hockey ranks, I have received well wishes from across the country. This has reminded me of what a special community the coaching world is and I just wanted to thank all of you for all of your love and support.

Most of all though, I want to thank you for all that you do for kids across the country. Again, as I have been going through this injury and the recovery it has given me a lot of time to reflect on my life. I have had time to think about how I want to handle everything that comes up and to think about how I became the person that I am. Time and time again, I come back to life lessons that my coaches, teachers, and parents have taught me ever since I was little. I was so blessed to have incredible coaches my whole life. Yes, we always wanted to win, but I knew they cared so much about me as a person. It was just as important for them to help me and my teammates to develop as people as it was for us to win games. These life lessons that I was taught and the mental toughness I gained through being an athlete has given me the strength I have needed to be so positive in my journey. Without the coaches in my life, I am not sure I would be handling it the same way, so again thank you!

[joehockey]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

These words are the true benefit of hockey. You have great teammates who support you but you also learn so much that allows you to be effective in the "game of life" and make this world a better place.

Most of all though, I want to thank you for all that you do for kids across the country. Again, as I have been going through this injury and the recovery it has given me a lot of time to reflect on my life. I have had time to think about how I want to handle everything that comes up and to think about how I became the person that I am. Time and time again, I come back to life lessons that my coaches, teachers, and parents have taught me ever since I was little. I was so blessed to have incredible coaches my whole life. Yes, we always wanted to win, but I knew they cared so much about me as a person. It was just as important for them to help me and my teammates to develop as people as it was for us to win games. These life lessons that I was taught and the mental toughness I gained through being an athlete has given me the strength I have needed to be so positive in my journey. Without the coaches in my life, I am not sure I would be handling it the same way, so again thank you!

[goldy_331]

Re: Former Gopher & Coach Laura Slominski - Accident Update

looks like former Gopher Dean Williamson will be the interim coach in her absence this year:
http://www.edinaschools.org/site/def...512&PageID=728

Good Luck Deano!