Sweet Caroline (Corey Crawford)

Standing Tall

Corey

As much as I want to spend every possible second I can at the hospital with Caroline until she gets better, it was starting to get late into the summer and it was time for me to head back to the ice. So while Caroline takes a nap I go find some ice with a few of my nhl buddies.

I end up practicing with Carey Price and PK Subban from the Canadiens and Duncs and Shawzy form my team. We warm up a little before they start taking shots, me on one end and Carey on the other.

After a few hours of hardcore work outs on the ice we head to the gym to condition. As a goalie I didn't need cardio as much as I needed power and flexibility. So I go off and do my own thing until Carey joins me.

"Hey Crow, how is it going" he asks starting to stretch out beside me.

"It's going I guess. This is not how I imagined spending my summer" I admit.

"I'm sorry to hear about your girlfriend" he says. "I know that has to be hard. Her and her family are in my prayers."

"Thanks Carey. That means a lot coming from you. I can use every ounce of help I can get" I admit.

"How is she doing? I heard she was paralyzed"

"That's the big thing she was dealing with, yeah. She's getting better. Taking it one day at a time. It's hard for her because she was always on the go, doing something to keep her mind preoccupied. For about a month she couldn't even lift her head so she was stuck staring at the ceiling or the wall for the longest time. But she's getting better, she stays positive and is trying so hard to get her life back."

"She's so incredibly strong."

"She's the strongest person I know. I know for a fact that if it was me in that bed I would have asked a doctor to put me out of my misery by now. I couldn't take that pain and the setbacks and the surgeries. I have no idea how she does it" I admit.

"She probably feels like she has a lot of good reasons to want to get better. Kinda like us and hockey, there's something that motivates her every day to wake up and keep trying" he explains.

"If my Dad was Patrick Roy I would want to get better too" I admit.

"That's part of it, but I think it's mostly you. I mean this is probably the longest you have been away from that hospital since you got there" he says.

"It is. But I stay there so if something happens I can be there for her. To be alone in that situation must be terrifying. I want to make sure I'm everything she needs me to be" I admit.

"Well it sounds like you're doing a pretty good job" he claims and I smile.

"Thanks. So are you ready for next season" I ask.

"Not really. It's June so I'm not too worried about next season. Taking it one step at a time, I don't want to get ahead of myself. Lord knows who will all be in that dressing room when we get back. If there's going to be a next season" he scoffs.

I stop stretching and turn to him. He continues to do whatever it is a elite goal tender does and acts like he didn't just drop a huge bomb.

"What's do you mean if there is a next season" I ask.

"You haven't heard" he asks and I shake my head. I've been in that hospital for a long time so I assume I have missed some things, but not something this big. "There's a labor disputes about to go down in the NHL. There's nothing set in stone but neither the players or owners are budging yet and it's getting ugly. There's no lockout as of right now but it's not looking good" he explains.

"That sucks. What if we can't play" I ask.

"We go overseas until we can" he insists.

I let out a long sigh as I stare at the floor. I can't seem to can't a break this year...

We finish up our workouts and I hit the showers. I change into comfy clothes and head back to the house for a little to reset myself. I feed Hawk and take some pictures of him so Caroline didn't miss him too much. I grab some things to keep us preoccupied for a while before finally heading back to the hospital.

I get up to her room but see she wasn't there. It showed on her schedule board that she had physical therapy right now but she would be back soon. I pick up around the room a little, it wasn't messy just busy with all the cards and stuff from people who stopped by. I replace some of the dead flowers with new ones to freshen up the mood and move a bunch of the stuffed animals out of the way.

Eventually Caroline comes wheeling in with the biggest smile on her face. I smile back as she pushes her glasses up into her face further.

"Hello angel" I say and the nurse parks her right next to me.

"Hey baby. How was your workout this morning" she asks.

"It was good. Nice to see the guys and talk to Carey for a little" I admit.

The nurse bends over and whispers something into Caroline's ear. She nods her head before the nurse smiles at me and runs off. I turn to Caroline and she was staring up at me.

"What was that about" I finally ask.

"Give me your hands and I will show you" she claims.

I put my hands out and she slowly placed hers in them. She grabs me tight causing me to hold her tighter. Then something happens that I was not at all expecting. Ever so slowly she starts to stand up. She stares down at her legs as she lifts herself out of her seat. Finally she stands all the way up and her grip on me loosens. I smile big as she looks up to me with the most happiness I've seen in her eyes since we got here.

"Look at you" I whisper.

"I never thought standing up would mark such a big day in my life" she admits.

"This is huge" I agree.

"Please don't drop me" she giggles.

"I won't. But I can't believe this... you're doing so good" I smile. She lets go of my hands and wraps her arms around me. I grab her perfect little face and press my lips to hers. I feel her smile which made me feel so good inside. She starts to rub my back and I almost felt like we were back to the good old times.

Eventually we break apart and she rests her head on my chest. I put my fingers in her hair so I could press her head into my chest. Her fingers get tangled in my shirt as we embrace each other for the first time in nearly two months.