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nivek_wahs
02-26-2007, 01:17 AM
http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/index.cfm?sid=13359&sc=9


Robinson receives a hero’s welcome

MATTHEW GOURLIE
The Moose Jaw Times Herald

Garrett Robinson made the greatest comeback in Moose Jaw Warriors history simply by stepping on the ice Friday night.

The 18-year-old Warriors left winger hopes to top it next year by skating onto the Civic Centre ice. For the first time since a car accident left him in a coma four months ago, the Surrey, B.C. native and second-year Warrior returned to Moose Jaw.

“I really enjoyed being with the team again,” said Robinson. “I felt more like a hockey player again. It was good to be in that locker room.

“It puts a big smile on my face saying that I’m finally back here in the place where I want to be and where I want to play next year.”

Robinson was on hand Friday to drop the puck for a ceremonial face-off and watch his teammates battle the Calgary Hitmen.

Robinson, along with teammates Joey Perricone and Carter Smith, was heading home on Oct. 22 after arriving back in town after an Alberta road trip. Smith’s car was blindsided by a Ford F-150 truck and Robinson took the brunt of the impact on the passenger side.

Perricone and Smith received only minor injuries, but Robinson was left in critical condition. After opening his eyes, Robinson continued to make steady improvement and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility in New Westminster near his home in Surrey, B.C.

He returned Friday with his parents Randy and Carol who came to thank the community that has embraced their family.

“If he had to be in an accident, this was the place for it to be,” said Carol Robinson. “The response was within five minutes and being that serious if it had happened at home, in Vancouver, would he have survived? You just don’t know.

“We knew that the minute he could fly, this was the first place he wanted to come back to.”

Before he had even taken the ice, Garrett was serenaded with chants of ‘Rob-by’ by the Warriors fans before an extended standing ovation for he and his family. The Warriors assistant captains gave Robinson’s parents leather Warriors jackets and a bouquet for Carol while captain Steven Gillen gave Robinson his No. 15 jersey to wear before dropping the puck.

“You think you’ve finished all of your crying and then you come to another event like this and you can’t hold back,” said Randy Robinson.

It’s been an unbelievable whirlwind of emotion for the Robinsons. Though they say it feels like a long time since that cold Sunday morning, they realized flying out that it was only the four-month anniversary that had passed.

The Robinsons had travelled to Alberta to watch their son play the weekend before the accident. They had just woken up when they got the call at home.

“There was some talk of trades — you always hear these rumours — and when the phone rang at 7 a.m. and it said ‘Chad Lang’ I said ‘Garrett’s been traded,’” recalled Randy Robinson. “And then Chad had the unpleasant task of telling us he had been in an accident. And it was devastating.”

They immediately rushed to his side in Regina.

“That was the trick, trying to book a flight. Should we charter a flight? Should we hop in a car? That was the longest four hours of our life,” said Randy.

“We just didn’t know when we got here if he would still be with us,” added Carol Robinson. “And that was our biggest fear. Since then every day has been a good day.”

Garrett Robinson certainly felt that Friday was a good day despite watching his teammates lose 9-3 to the Hitmen. As soon as he entered the rink he was busy thanking well-wishers and said he was most pleased to see that “everyone is behind me, the whole team is behind me and the whole crowd is behind me. It’s a good feeling.”

The community of Moose Jaw and the greater hockey community rallied around the Robinson family. In excess of $96,000 has been raised for the Garrett Robinson foundation. The fund has helped ease the burden for the family and will continue to help Robinson’s recovery and pay for items above and beyond what is offered at the rehab centre.

“It’s unbelievable what total strangers will just dig deep and support somebody they don’t even know,” said Carol Robinson. “They sent us e-mails, cards, made donations, it was just truly amazing. Hopefully I can do the same thing for somebody else.

“It’s something (Garrett) will cherish for the rest of his life.”

The family has been at the hospital every day since the accident and though he is an out-patient, Garrett is still at the hospital every day for classes to work on his speech and his memory. He’s been beating the odds since the start.

“When you get (to the hospital) it’s just black and white. They don’t try sugar-coat it, they just tell you the facts and just said ‘we’ll tell you Wednesday whether your son will live or die,’” said Carol Robinson.

Doctors have said that youth and strength were on Garrett’s side. Now it’s the determination and drive that defined him in his young career that is on his side as he starts his comeback.

Robinson is busy working on getting stronger physically while also working on his balance and co-ordination. His personal trainer has him working on his fitness by riding a bike and running on a treadmill while also playing racquetball and basketball. That’s in addition to his work in the rehab centre. Robinson wants to be in Moose Jaw for the start of training camp.

Robinson is always asking his physio therapists to push him harder.

“The physio lady said ‘ok I think we’re ready to see if you can run’ and we were sitting there and all of a sudden you see him go tearing down the hallway and this lady is trying to catch him,” said Randy Robinson. “They’re all trying to catch him. They never told him where to stop, they just told him to run.”

He will have to re-learn some of his hockey skills and how quick they come back — or if they come back — remains to be seen.

“The big thing is that he wants to come back, he’s going to work hard at it. Is he ever going to have the reflexes and the ability to play at this level again? Only time will tell,” said Randy Robinson. “The neurosurgeon told us that in a year he will be able to play contact sports. He’s no different than anyone who had a concussion.”

There is still a lot of hard work to be done.

Garrett doesn’t recall anything from the accident or the current season. He recently recalled a couple of memories from training camp, but initially didn’t believe he had played this season.

“There is still a long road,” said Carol Robinson. “The fastest recovery is in the first two years. And then after that it could drag on 10 years or longer, depending on his cognitive skills . . . and his short-term memory.”

“The only problem I have is with short-term memory. I only get that sometimes but it’s usually just minor things,” said Garrett Robinson. “It’s just the odd time that I can’t remember some small things that happened not too long ago.”

Robinson said he can’t forget the generosity of the community and the support of general manager Chad Lang and the rest of the organization for their support.

The Robinsons haven’t thrown away any of the cards or e-mails and they hope to respond to everyone who has an address to thank them their concern, their prayers and their support. Robinson himself said reading all of the cards has made him happy and he’s working his way through the mass of e-mails sent to him.

While the outpouring of support from across North America and even Europe has touched him, Robinson said the accident has given him more perspective.

“I know that there’s a lot larger things than hockey and that something so small can change your life. Life is so important to me now,” he said.