Like all parents, when I was pregnant with my son I had hopes and dreams
of who he would be and what he would do. For me the dream was to play
hockey someday with my child. I dreamed of the day he would be old
enough to put skates on and we would go down to the local rink. I dreamed
of the exhilaration he would feel from gliding across the ice, catching the
perfect pass, and scoring his first goal.  Okay maybe his first goal wouldn’t
be quite like that. It would be more like a group of 5-year olds all chasing the
puck around and his stick happened to be the last one to touch it before the
puck went into the net.  Still the excitement and the smiles would be there.

Eighteen hours after my son was born, he began to have seizures. He spent
two weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit having IV’s coming out of
every vein possible, numerous blood draws, a spinal tap, and an MRI.  We
were sent home not knowing why he was seizing and what the outcome
would be.

At six months old we met with a neurologist to discuss our son’s
development. After the doctor assessed him, she turned to us and told us
he had a fifty percent chance of being mentally retarded, he would probably
never walk, and he would never be able to communicate in a “typical” way.
All my dreams vanished with that one sentence. I would never get to play
hockey with my son.

My son is now seven years old and I have learned to dream new dreams.
One dream I have never been able to give up though was to see my son
play hockey.  In March of 2006 my dream became a reality. I watched my
son take the ice for the first time and score a goal. The excitement in his
voice, the sparkle in his eye, the permanent grin, and the tears in my eyes
will never be forgotten.

My son was able to play hockey through a 6-week trial program in which
children and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities were given the
opportunity to play either stand up hockey or sled hockey. The program was
a HUGE success. Twenty plus players signed up to play sled hockey and
thirty players signed up for stand up hockey.

I would like to continue the program and see it grow. Our goal this year is to
run a 22 week sled hockey program and grow from 20 players to 40. In
order to do this we need to purchase an additional 10-15 hockey sleds
which cost $500 a sled.

We would like to request your assistance in providing sleds to the players of
Minnesota Sled Hockey Association. Your sponsorship of $500 or more
would help us to purchase the necessary sleds for each player to
experience hockey.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please
contact me at 612-558-8387 or by email at mnsledhockey@hotmail.com
Minnesota Sled Hockey Association is a Non-profit 501c3 organization.

Sincerely,
Geri-Anne Zubich
President Minnesota Sled Hockey Association
mnsledhockey@hotmail.com
612-558-8387
A Mother's Dream