Friends count their blessings
By: Rob Vanstone
Regina Leader Post
April 13, 2005
Jordan McGillivray has spent the past few days fielding a torrent of telephone calls about his Regina Pats teammate and close friend, Kyle Ross.
The first call was placed by Ross -- who suffered a broken back Sunday in a car accident near Vermilion, Alta.
"He called me at 10 o'clock (Monday) morning,'' McGillivray says. "I was the first to know.
"He told me what happened and I couldn't believe it. He said, 'Jordy, I'm all mangled.' I still can't believe that something like that happens to a guy like him.''
After speaking with Ross, a shaken McGillivray headed to the Agridome and broke the bad news to Pats general manager Brent Parker.
"I was in Brent's office for a half-hour to 45 minutes,'' McGillivray says. "It's tough to talk about.''
You can tell that by listening to McGillivray, whose voice cracks while he talks about his buddy.
"As soon as he called and said what happened, right away it was the worst possible feeling in my gut,'' McGillivray says. "You're thinking, 'Oh my God . . .'
"When he said it was his back, you start thinking that he's paralysed and he won't be able to play hockey anymore. As soon as he said it was something that he could recover from, a sense of relief came across my entire body.
"Not only is he a good hockey player, but he's also amazing at everything he does. With all his talent, he should be able to use it to the full extent.''
Ross' talent is evidenced by the fact that he was the Pats' third-leading scorer during the 2004-05 WHL season.
Although the Regina-born Ross is best known as a hockey player, he is also adept at virtually any sport he tries.
On Tuesday, I spent a few minutes speaking with a gentleman who coached Ross in community basketball. The essence of the conversation was this: If Ross was able to play, the team won. If he was absent due to his many hockey commitments, well . . .
Ross is also an avid golfer. Obligations to his summer job at the Wascana Country Club had prevented him from accepting an invitation to play in the Centennial Hockey Challenge -- an Alberta-Saskatchewan hockey game which is to be held Thursday in Lloydminster.
The 18-year-old Ross did manage to sneak away to visit his sister in Edmonton on the weekend. While driving back to Regina, he fell asleep at the wheel.
The car veered off the highway and was totalled. Thankfully, Ross and two passengers emerged without life-threatening injuries.
Ross sustained a fractured L-1 vertebrae and a compressed L-3 vertebrae. Ross, who has not lost any feeling, is about to be fitted with a brace.
"Everybody on our team wants to know what's going on, so I've been getting a lot of calls,'' McGillivray says. "A lot of people in the city know that I know him so well. I've been talking about it so much.
"For something like that to happen to Rosco, it shows that it doesn't matter what type of person you are, you're not immune or untouchable.
"It hits close to home. I could have been on that trip to Edmonton.''
McGillivray was invited, but decided to remain home in Regina. He is babysitting younger siblings while his parents are out of town.
"It could have happened to me,'' McGillivray says as his voice breaks.
Like everyone who knows the personable Ross, McGillivray is so thankful that the Pats' humanitarian-of-the-year was spared a crippling or fatal injury.
"It could have been way worse,'' McGillivray says. "A few inches could have made the difference between life and death, or between him not making a full recovery.''
Ross was transferred to General Hospital on Monday. Parker planned to visit the hospital last night and give Ross many of the messages which have been e-mailed to
rosco@reginapats.com and faxed to 569-1021.
Nobody knows for sure how long the recuperative process will take. However, McGillivray is certain that Ross's rate of recovery will be remarkable.
"Kyle is one of the most competitive people I've ever met,'' he says. "It doesn't matter if we're playing PlayStation2 or mini-sticks, he wants to win.
"This is another challenge for him to get over. I'm sure he's going to do it with everybody in disbelief over how fast he did it.''
© Copyright 2005 The Leader-Post (Regina)