This past week marked the 64th anniversary of mental health week, a national occasion that encourages Canadians of all ages to not only become more aware of different mental health issues across the country, but also to inspire them to live a mentally healthy and positive lifestyle.
Glen Avon was one of many schools that opted to commemorate the occasion by hosting different activities. The main event of the week was a presentation to all students on Tuesday by Kieran Block, a former WHL player with the Vancouver Giants and Medicine Hat Tigers that found medal success with the Canadian men’s sledge hockey team.
“We brought Kieran in to give students the message that any obstacles they face can be overcome with hope,” says Smid.
The major obstacle that Kieran eventually overcame was a crushing cliff dive into shallow rocky water during a camping trip to Jasper that inflicted tremendous damage on his legs.
It was difficult for the now 29-year-old athlete to come to terms with the implications of the injury, perhaps the most major one being told he would never skate again.
“It was overall a hard day physically, but I came out okay,” says Block to the students. “But that was my physical body. My mind was a different story.”
Loss and Grief
He says he reacted to the incident by going through the five stages of loss and grief.
The first stage is denial.
“I thought I would just heal. I have broken my wrist and collarbone but just a few weeks later I was good at new. In my head I was like ‘this is the exact same thing.’
“I was laying in a hospital bed thinking I was fine and I had people ask me if I was okay and how I could be so positive.”
Deep down, Block knew that he had changed forever but he just didn’t want to face that tough reality.
The second stage is anger.
After being bedridden in his hospital bed for over a month Block was finally released from the hospital. It was tough for him to see people free of disabilities and ailments living their lives.
“I saw people on TV and in person walking around totally fine and that made me really angry. I thought ‘that’s not fair! Why can you do that and I can’t.’ I started blaming everyone.”
The third stage is bargaining.
Block started to lay in his bed at night hoping that closing his eyes to go to sleep would unlock a time capsule to his past so he could go back and avoid his fateful injury.
When he opened his eyes, he was always met by disappointment.
“I started bargaining with God,” he says. “I said to him ‘I’m sorry! Let me go back! I won’t do it again.”
Nothing happened.
The fourth stage is depression.
“I began to question the point of living. I wanted to start over and hit the reset button but I couldn’t.”
His negative outlook on life ended up pushing the people closest to him away, instead of pulling them closer when he needed their love and support the most.
“I was isolated. I was alone. I was the only person in the world to experience this…or so I thought.”
Block opted to reacquaint with Matt Cook, a friend of his he hadn’t seen for a decade. Like Block, Cook had a past in hockey playing with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Bonnyville Pontiacs, and like Block, he knew what it was like to experience constant chronic pain. Cancer in his right leg eventually led to him losing that leg when he received a below-the-knee leg amputation.
“He had over 40 rounds of chemotherapy, he had open heart surgery, he had pneumonia in his lungs, tumors all over his body, but the first time I hung out with him after our 10-year absence, I had no idea anything was wrong with him. He was smiling, happy and trucking along.”
Block was stunned that someone who had been dealt such a poor hand in life could turn out to be such a positive life force. He was inspired to spend more time with Cook. Then Cook began pushing Block to try out for the Canadian sledge hockey team.
Eventually due to Cook’s pestering and watching Cook achieve success with the Canadian team, Block was slowly starting to warm up to the idea of playing this alternative brand of Canada’ favourite game.
In addition to hanging out with Cook, the pair would delve into serious conversations about life and death.
The fifth stage is acceptance.
Inspired by his friend to overcome obstacles by having a positive attitude, Block started to work at getting better. At this time, in early 2010, he was close to finishing his education degree at the U of A.
Block received some tough news in early April of that year. Brayden Cook, Matt’s Brother, informed Block that Matt passed away from cancer on April 4.
“I just kept crying and crying. I lost my rock in life. I thought about how I would never get to play sledge hockey with him.”
At the celebration of Matt’s life, a week after his passing, Block came in contact with members of the Canadian national sledge hockey team and the Edmonton-based sledge hockey teams.
After that encounter he had an epiphany.
“I thought ‘I have to give this a try.’ No more feeling sorry for myself.”
He graduated from university and began to become passionate about playing the game.
“When I think back, Matt wasn’t really trying to get me to play hockey. He just wanted me to live a happy lifestyle.”
In February of 2011, he vowed to make it on the national sledge hockey team. And he did - earning a spot as a defenseman. He encouraged the students to also set S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Bound) goals to achieve their dreams.
Block admits that even though completely changing his approach to life has been positive, there have been some tough moments. But, those lows have been accompanied by unbelievable highs. He earned a gold medal at the 2013 World Sledge Hockey Challenge. And he has earned a silver medal at the 2015 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championship.
Block delivers speeches as part of Motivate Canada’s Esteem Team.
