Whitby Boy Is A True Example Of Courage, Perseverance & Dedication
I'll admit I am often lost at
the praise heaped on professional athletes relating to their courage,
perseverance and dedication. Let's face it these guys make millions of dollars
to play a game that they are ruining. Because they play through a slight groin
pull, with a cut on their lip or the odd stitch in their face some over zealous
announcer will recant a dozen times a game about their bravery in the face of
competition.
If you want a true example of what courage, perseverance and
dedication is you don't have to go any further than Whitby. The Minor Atom
Select Team in Whitby has a 10 year old skater by the name of Steven Davies.
Steven lives and breathes hockey not because of the money he is paid to play
the game, but because he loves the game.
When he was admitted to the Emergency Department at Sick
Kids, at the beginning of February, he was devastated to learn that he would
have to miss his Select team's tournament in the United States. Steven had to
remain in the hospital for a week, having numerous tests done to find out if he
had "Hirschsprung's Disease".
Despite the fact he had just undergone 3 minor operations
when Steven returned home he was out to his teams hockey practice and game.
During the next few weeks, Steven forgot about his stay at the hospital and
carried on with hockey.
Then came the bad news. Steven did have Hirschsprung's
Disease and required major corrective surgery. Steven, his parents and
teammates thought his hockey season was over. When Steven had the surgery on
March 1, he underwent a three hour operation in order to create an ostomy
(stoma).
As was mentioned earlier, Steven lives and breathes hockey.
The first thing he said after his surgery was "When can I thank the doctor
for making me feel better?" The second thing was "When can I play
hockey again?"
To everyone's amazement, the stay in the hospital was
shortened from one week to 5 days. It should come as no surprise that the
following weekend, Steven went out to his house league game and felt so good
that he went to his Select practice later that day.
Steven played in the Pickering Select Tournament during the March Break -
only 12 days after his major surgery. He was chosen as MVP for Whitby in their
3rd game.
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