Sunday, February 05, 2017
Rusty Hafner-Awaiting his Turn
Rusty Hafner
A couple of weeks ago,
I wrote about the dreadful tragedy suffered by the Columbus
Cottonmouths hockey team. Their bus left the road on the way to
Peoria, Illinois. Many of the players and staff members suffered
serious injuries in the accident including a former Duke, Rusty
Hafner. Andy Bathgate, a former Belleville Bull, was also on the
trip.
Andy Bathgate
Hafner was starting his
second season with the Cottonmouths. I asked him why and how he ended
up in Columbus, Georgia. “Well, it was sort of the typical hockey
grapevine thing. My coach at Bowling Green had played with my coach
in Columbus, and he recommended me”.
I caught up with Hafner
a couple of days ago to get an update on his status, and on the
status of the team. When I first reached him, he was waiting at the
hospital for some follow-up work on “concussion-like symptoms”,
as he described it. A day or two later, he told me that he still had
not hit the ice. “I am still kind of beaten up,” he told me. “I
did not pass the most recent concussion test”.
In addition to that,
there is some concern about Rusty's spleen. A recent CT scan
indicated that his spleen is enlarged, and it is just a matter of
time before it will return to its normal state. “You only get one
spleen,” he told me, “so I had better keep an eye on that too.”
The Cottonmouths have a
wonderful “Booster Family” program in place. All of the players
regularly visit their booster families to get a few comforts of home,
particularly a fine home-cooked dinner. Rusty was on his way to visit
his booster family when I reached him.
“The prognosis at the
present time is that I might be able to return for the playoffs. But
there are so many questions. There are still more tests to be done.”
I could tell that he was anxious to get back on the ice. He has
accepted the fact that he is in the hands of professional medical
people. And that is that.
We tossed around his
thoughts on his days in The County. “I had never heard of the place
before I arrived, but I loved it there. I stayed at the Greers house,
and became good friends with Riley and Brady.” You must remember
this is an American kid from Toledo, Ohio, who came north to play a
little shinny, at the junior level, and was moved from Carleton Place
to Wellington just before the Dukes' run to the Royal Bank Cup. He
added: “Those were some of the greatest moments in my hockey
career.”
He received his
university degree from Bowling Green in Exercise Science, and looks
forward to days when he might work as a strength and conditioning
coach. Not all athletes complete their degree work at universities.
Many football and basketball players leave early in their academic
careers to play in the pro ranks. It is not always a wise decision.
Rusty is grateful that he stuck it out.
I know that your
thoughts and prayers are with him. May he have a speedy recovery.
February 5, 2017
James Hurst
# posted by James Hurst @ 7:54 PM 
