Cast Off & Back to Boot Camp

Posted on 20 September 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

If you don’t follow my felt hats on Facebook, you likely missed some good news last week: my dreaded wrist cast is a thing of the past and I’ve been cleared for hockey boot camp (with a brace) – Hooray! Hooray!

Carrie Cahill Mulligan retakes the ice at hockey boot camp just 3 days after removing her short-arm cast.

Practicing hockey stops & starts at Campion Rink’s Boot Camp 2012.

The friendly resident at DHMC offered me the removed cast as a souvenier, but I was happy to see that veritable thumb-prison go — I only wore it for 3 weeks, but that’s still a long time to be without the opposable thumb on one’s dominant hand.

Besides, my plain purple short-arm cast wasn’t near as snazzy as some of the ones at Dartmouth-Hitchcock:

A glittery blue dragon with orange wings against a bright yellow fiberglass foot cast.

Love the glitter on this dragon foot cast!

Intricate Harley-Davidson artwork "tattoo" on an orange fiberglass full-leg cast.

How about a faux-tattoo full-leg cast for the Harley fans out there?

Wicked-sick full-leg cast of yellow and black fiberglass, imitating a Bruins ice hockey sock.

Wicked Killah: full-leg cast of black & yellow fiberglass, a Bruins hockey sock replica!

Have you ever worn a cast? Did you decorate it or leave it plain?

Cast Off and Counting Down – Andy Update #3

Posted on 8 June 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Andy’s 1st wrist cast was white. That’s generally what you get in the emergency room.

Andy’s first cast.

Two weeks later, due to normal muscle atrophy, Andy got a 2nd, snugger cast, this time, any color he liked. He chose purple.

The cast color options at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, in Lebanon, NH.

Over the following 4 weeks, Andy did a great job keeping the purple cast dry, through all of his light-duty yard work and special bagging and taping for every bath & shower.

However, dishwashing was the eventual demise of Andy’s purple cast. A wet cast is an unhealthy, unhappy place, so even though removal was officially scheduled for 5 days later, Andy got his 3rd cast just in time for our visit to Maine over Memorial Day.

Feeling festive, Andy selected purple with a glow-in-the-dark stripe, which was a big hit with our youngest friends:

Checking out Andy’s glow-in-the-dark cast…

Fun as the 3rd cast was, though, it was with great anticipation and relief that this (hopefully!) final cast was removed last Wednesday!

Cast removal with a special little rotary cutter… the big moment!

Andy got more x-rays of his wrist and collarbone, which the doctors think look great (lots of hazy sections signifying active tissue re-growth).

And best of all, the doctor prescribed a sturdy wrist brace, only occasional sling use, and immediate physical therapy for shoulder & wrist.

Sporting his new wrist brace!

He’s definitely on the mend, now and hoping to be %100 in 4 more weeks. That would mean we could be swing dancing in time for Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in July! Keep your fingers crossed & I’ll keep you posted…

Hockey Words of Wisdom

Posted on 9 May 2012 by Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Lots of you know that I’m a hockey addict. For 2/3 of the year, you can find me at the local rink nearly every day of the week (I rest on Saturdays).

How is that possible? Well, there’s learn-to-play class twice a week. There’s open stick (pick-up) hockey 3 days a week. And don’t forget game night for the Campion Hockey League on Sunday nights.

Carrie Cahill Mulligan skates hard after the puck in a Campion Hockey League game, Lebanon, New Hampshire, 2011.

In hot pursuit of the puck during a Campion Hockey League Game, 2011.

So, that’s 6 days of hockey each and every week… during the regular season.

During the final weeks of the season, much like a bear gearing up for hibernation, I consume as much ice time as my body (and marriage) can withstand.

Winning the face-off during a women’s hockey tournament in Stowe, Vermont, 2012.

This year, I played in both the women’s and the men’s Spring Mud League, and had 3 separate tournaments scheduled (2 women’s tourneys plus my first co-ed one).

Women's ice hockey team, Stateline White, after their last game of the 2012 season.

About 2/3 of my 2012 women’s Mud League hockey team, Stateline White.

The 2012 men’s Mud League expansion hockey team, the Pirates.

Turns out though, I ended up missing the final tournament due to my husband’s bicycle accident and clavicle surgery.

Don’t get me wrong. I hold no grudge against my Sweet Man, who has been nothing but supportive of my crazy hockey habit.

Being home to care for him in his need was something I was happy to do. I’m grateful to be his bride, and to be the one to nurse him.

Carrie & Andy Mulligan with Cinder-Dog, April 2012

Happy together, in sickness and in health.

Still, I did feel a twinge of regret that I couldn’t be in 2 places at once. I wrote my team captain, Kara, explaining the situation, and couldn’t resist adding a sort of hockey pep-talk, in lieu of being part of the tournament team.

Imagine my delight when Kara sent the team this note, along with the fantastic motivational hockey poster she made from my advice:

“Carrie needs to bow out of the tourney, but she sent me some thoughts to
channel the “Carrie Mental Edge” over the other teams…so she’ll be with us in spirit.
And if we really want to outlast our opponents, don’t forget your chocolate milk!”

(All of this I learned from my coach, Dick Dodds, arguably one of the best hockey coaches New Hampshire has ever seen.)

So much love! I couldn’t have been more pleased to remain a part of my tournament team, if only in spirit.

And my team? They WON their division… in quadruple overtime!

Carrie Cahill Mulligan

Heirloom Handknit Hats

Category Archives: Upper Valley

Cast Off & Back to Boot Camp

Cast Off and Counting Down – Andy Update #3

Hockey Words of Wisdom