“Difficult to understand what happened”: Finnish ice hockey player paralyzed after accident

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Bad news from Finland. Finnish ice hockey player Sanni Hakala (26) announced on Instagram that she is paralyzed from the chest down, with reduced function in her hands and arms. During a match in the Swedish Women’s League on November 24, Hakala hit his head on the goal post. What may not seem devastating at first glance has tragic consequences. The national player has already completed her first operation.

“It is still difficult to understand what happened. That the collision with the goal post is so serious and that the consequences are so serious,” Hakala wrote on her Instagram profile on Friday. The Finn is threatened with life in a wheelchair, she tells her fans. The sympathy after the injury was huge in the ice hockey world.

Two Olympic medals

Sanni Hakala was an important part of the Finnish national team. She has been on the ice at the World Championships every year since 2016 and won the first silver World Cup medal with Finland in 2019. She also won two bronze medals with the Finnish team at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. In Beijing 2022, Hakala also played in the third place match against Switzerland.

After the terrible diagnosis, Hakala focuses on rehabilitation. “I now have to concentrate all my energy on the rehabilitation, so that I can recover as best as possible. The situation is obviously difficult, but I am not afraid to accept it,” Hakala said in her statement. (jsl)

Source : Blick