Patrice Bergeron is headed with the Bruins down to Atlanta for a big game against the Thrashers tomorrow night. While in Georgia, he’ll be visiting with Norwood High School hockey player Matt Brown, who suffered a serious head and neck injury in January and is being treated at the Shepard Center.
Brown was skating hard along the boards when he lost his balance after bumping another player, and slammed his head in the boards as he fell. He’s had surgery to stabilize his neck, and he and his family have been down in Georgia since as they fight to recover from the devastating injury.
From Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com, Bergeron knows is familiar with what Brown is going through, albeit on a much less serious level.
“I heard about it on the news. He’s a person with a serious head injury and obviously it happened while he was playing hockey,” said Bergeron. “You never want to hear about that stuff. So I sent a little card with a note and a jersey signed by me. I just told him to stay positive and stay patient. Now he’s in Atlanta, so I want to go by and say hi. I just want to meet him in person.
“Obviously I haven’t been through anything as serious as his condition. But I have been through similar stuff and I know it is tough to sometimes stay positive. You get frustrated. It is something that I want to share with him and I am excited to go see him, him and his family.”
The Brown family are also struggling with the incredibly expensive treatment their son is getting, and a fund has been established to help with the medical expenses. Checks can be made out and sent to:
Brownie Points
P.O. Box 398
Norwood, MA 02062