Juuso Valimaki: "I really enjoy hockey again"

[Locke]

Wow...What the actual Fata??

That sounds horrible.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by Gaudreau is a Ninja

Oh man that’s not good, someone is in trouble

It said in the article that there are supposed to be two doctors within 50 feet of the benches in every NHL arena, so where were they? Why didn't one of them go to the hospital with Valimaki?

[chedder]

Originally Posted by butterfly

It said in the article that there are supposed to be two doctors within 50 feet of the benches in every NHL arena, so where were they? Why didn't one of them go to the hospital with Valimaki?

Sounds like they were there but they have to stay in the rink for future needs. I'm thinking a rule change is about to happen. Somebody with medical training from the player's own team should be glued to the player and advocating for him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by chedder

Sounds like they were there but they have to stay in the rink for future needs. I'm thinking a rule change is about to happen. Somebody with medical training from the player's own team should be glued to the player and advocating for him.

What I find really strange is that in the US medical system Valimaki is what they want. He can pay. His insurance can pay.

He is like a prime example of someone that would be moved to the front of the line.

[Major Major]

Are people not reading the part that says the hospital ER was filled with people with gunshot wounds? I think we're focused on the wrong thing here. Pro athlete or not, yes please feel free to tend to your endless queue of gunshot wounds, America.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Are people not reading the part that says the hospital ER was filled with people with gunshot wounds? I think we're focused on the wrong thing here. Pro athlete or not, yes please feel free to tend to your endless queue of gunshot wounds, America.

That makes sense for why those doctors were preoccupied. One of the ones from the arena should have been able to treat Valimaki.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by butterfly

That makes sense for why those doctors were preoccupied. One of the ones from the arena should have been able to treat Valimaki.

That isn't possible in the best of situations. You would need imaging, monitoring, nursing staff, equipment and a location for surgery... In general a lot of things would be needed in order to facilitate treatment.

There is likely a situation where they would need to mandate a medical escort for any injury deemed necessary for hospitalization but I don't know how or what that would look like.

[CSharp]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Are people not reading the part that says the hospital ER was filled with people with gunshot wounds? I think we're focused on the wrong thing here. Pro athlete or not, yes please feel free to tend to your endless queue of gunshot wounds, America.

I read that and my first thought was, "Thank god I'm in Canada!". That's crazy with the Americans and their guns!

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

That isn't possible in the best of situations. You would need imaging, monitoring, nursing staff, equipment and a location for surgery... In general a lot of things would be needed in order to facilitate treatment.

There is likely a situation where they would need to mandate a medical escort for any injury deemed necessary for hospitalization but I don't know how or what that would look like.

So this is the first time in history a professional sports injury occurred while unassociated people are simultaneously being treated for gunshot wounds?

Seems quite unlikely. What if his wife wasn't there, go to a hotel and sleep it off? After the NHLPA got involved, things magically started happening.

Here's more info: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/so...to-face-nov-14

[chedder]

Originally Posted by butterfly

That makes sense for why those doctors were preoccupied. One of the ones from the arena should have been able to treat Valimaki.

Team doctors aren't surgeons. NHL rules say they need an er doc, a primary care doc and an orthopedist. Valimaki needed internal stitches then another surgery to stabilize his jaw. ER doc might have been able to do the stitches. He had to go to the hospital. Just unfortunate the way it all played out.

[FlamesAddiction]

It never really occurred to me that professional athletes had to sit in triage just like the rest of us normies. I just assumed they could pull the strings and pay the money to get them private care, especially in the states where it is pretty much all private.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

It never really occurred to me that professional athletes had to sit in triage just like the rest of us normies. I just assumed they could pull the strings and pay the money to get them private care, especially in the states where it is pretty much all private.

It’s still priority based. Their not treating a hockey injury at the expense of a gunshot victim or car accident in life threatening situation. No matter the money.

What they do here, as I have been in a similar situation, is send them by ambulance to another hospital. No idea why that didn’t happen, seems like a better solution that waiting for hours.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Flamesfan05

That’s happened all the time to poor people

How much money someone has or doesn't have should have no bearing on this. When he was finally treated, he needed 55 stiches to close the hole in his mouth and was told that if he'd listened to the hospital staff that suggested he go get a hotel room, there's a chance he would have suffoctaed on his own blood.

That sounds like a pretty decent case for emergency attention, no? Sounds like he should have been in the queue with everyone else that had a potentially fatal injury, instead of being to told to go sleep it off.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Are people not reading the part that says the hospital ER was filled with people with gunshot wounds? I think we're focused on the wrong thing here. Pro athlete or not, yes please feel free to tend to your endless queue of gunshot wounds, America.

As American as apple pie and baseball.

As American as gangbangers and the NRA.

[PepsiFree]

It’s good that this is being investigated, because it’s obviously a scary series of events that is important to ensure NHL policies are sufficient enough to avoid in any avoidable situation.

But I think some of the reactions are over the top. In the end, he got the care he needed without any further harm or injury. There’s really nothing to sue for, and just because he’s a professional athlete doesn’t mean he should get special treatment. By all accounts it sounds like the teams did what they had to do and, had hospital capacity not been an issue, it would have turned out completely fine.

I think he’s very lucky he had the NHLPA to advocate for him. And I’m sure both the NHL and NHLPA are going to put more money into the handling of injuries that require hospital care in the future.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

It’s good that this is being investigated, because it’s obviously a scary series of events that is important to ensure NHL policies are sufficient enough to avoid in any avoidable situation.

But I think some of the reactions are over the top. In the end, he got the care he needed without any further harm or injury. There’s really nothing to sue for, and just because he’s a professional athlete doesn’t mean he should get special treatment. By all accounts it sounds like the teams did what they had to do and, had hospital capacity not been an issue, it would have turned out completely fine.

I think he’s very lucky he had the NHLPA to advocate for him. And I’m sure both the NHL and NHLPA are going to put more money into the handling of injuries that require hospital care in the future.

Yeah, I think it has just identified a gap in their protocols that needs to be corrected for.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

It’s good that this is being investigated, because it’s obviously a scary series of events that is important to ensure NHL policies are sufficient enough to avoid in any avoidable situation.

But I think some of the reactions are over the top. In the end, he got the care he needed without any further harm or injury. There’s really nothing to sue for, and just because he’s a professional athlete doesn’t mean he should get special treatment. By all accounts it sounds like the teams did what they had to do and, had hospital capacity not been an issue, it would have turned out completely fine.

I think he’s very lucky he had the NHLPA to advocate for him. And I’m sure both the NHL and NHLPA are going to put more money into the handling of injuries that require hospital care in the future.

I don't think the argument is that he should have received preferential treatment. I think the argument is that he shouldn't have been sent home ("go get a hotel room").

I realize this happens every day to people who have no one to stand up for them, but now that it's happened to someone who has very rich people willing to investigate this publicly, I feel like people should be supportive of that investigation.

If the end result of said investigation is "overcrowded hospital filled with their daily quota of gunshot victims in the good ol' state of Texas," then that needs to be the follow up conversation.

Let's not forget...

Beginning September 1, 2021, HB1927 made it legal in Texas for most people 21 or over to carry a handgun in a holster without a permit both openly and/or concealed. This law modified the previous open carry law from 2016 by eliminating the requirement to have a license to carry.

I'm no mathemetician by any means, but the article specifically mentioned the ER was packed with gunshot wounds... and I'm just wondering how much of a coincedence it is, that this would happen in a state that does not require any kind of license or permit to carry either a concealed handgun, or an openly displayed handgun.

I'm also curious what the percentage of people who were shot while trying to rob/assault someone (protection, self defence) is. Because maybe the problem isn't handguns... maybe the problem is Texas is just overrun with burglars and bullies, and the only ones doing the shooting are God-fearin' law-abidin' citizens.


Edit: I'm hopping off my soapbox now, no worries. I just sometimes can't stop myself from commenting on things that are just utterly absurd.
Edit2: Not saying anything Pepsi said was absurd. Just the whole "we don't have room to help this guy who got hurt playing a sport... because guns" thing.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Edit2: Not saying anything Pepsi said was absurd. Just the whole "we don't have room to help this guy who got hurt playing a sport... because guns" thing.

Well, they aren't in there to protest the laws. They're trying to triage and help people who have problems like any nurse or doctor would in any country.

That's a consequence of gun violence here.

[butterfly]

There are so many hospitals in Dallas-Fort Worth, some of them are absolute top tier. The level of negligence from whoever told Valimaki to get a hotel and sleep it off pegs the meter of disbelief.

Tell the ambulance to transport the patient to somewhere that a surgeon is available before they die from internal bleeding. It's a horrible story.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Are people not reading the part that says the hospital ER was filled with people with gunshot wounds? I think we're focused on the wrong thing here. Pro athlete or not, yes please feel free to tend to your endless queue of gunshot wounds, America.

Has anyone thought of giving NHL refs guns so they can ensure proper safety of the players?