I’ve been battling with this decision for weeks. I’ve always been on the ice, ever since I was 5 years old, and it’s been 26 years. I want to skate so badly, but many medical professionals have told me it’s not a good idea. I respect their opinion, and I do agree that it’s coming to an end. However, it’s been playing on my mind. Mentally, I’ve been going through things, and I just need to feel the ice under my blades and that glide. I’m okay with not jumping or spinning, but I need to push.

After talking with my coach, he’s agreed to let me back on the ice as long as he’s around and I follow the rules I’ve been given. I’ll be starting next Tuesday because of injections this week, and I’m really excited.

However, I did find a free skate session, and I decided to go ahead and skate (my coach agreed). I headed there at 8:00 PM, and I kind of snuck into the arena. It wasn’t intentional, but I had to pee so badly that I snuck in through the back door just to get to the bathroom. After that, I went to the other side of the bench, avoiding everyone, and got dressed.

As soon as I stepped on the ice, I didn’t even have time to feel it under my blades before an older man, who wasn’t wearing a helmet, tried to stop and slammed his head onto the ice. His daughter was screaming at the top of her lungs. So, I did what I’ve been trained to do as a dispatcher—I called 9-1-1. Since my first aid certification has expired, I had others keep an eye on him to avoid any legal issues. The man had several seizures after hitting his head, which made things even more intense. I had a Kardia machine on me, so when the seizures stopped, we were able to monitor his heart. I didn’t do much medical-wise, other than having the machine, but I sat with his daughter and tried to calm her down while others stayed with him.

There was a delayed response time from Emergency Personnel, and they arrived about 20 minutes after the call. They worked on him when they got there.

Once he was taken off the ice, we were allowed to skate. I managed to skate for about 20 minutes. It wasn’t a lot, but I’ve been told to stop when the pain starts, evaluate, and either restart or try again the next day. But for the first time in six months, it felt amazing to be back on the ice, and I haven’t felt this good in so long.

I’ve got a lot of medical procedures coming up in the next few weeks, so it’ll be tough to fit skating in while I’m recovering.