Toni Piispanen and Aino Tapola were paralyzed as young athletes. They emphasize the great importance of support from close friends and peer support after an injury.
Sanni Hakala, 26, paralysis has stopped the sports world. Last week, Hakala collided with a post in a Swedish hockey league match. The Finnish captain of HV71 said on Instagram on Thursday that he is paralyzed from the chest down. The Finnish ice hockey player said that he might end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Hakala’s paralysis has made headlines around the world.
In Finnish top-level hockey, the previous paralysis is probably Jaroslav Otevrel from 1996. The Czech striker of Pori Ässie lost his balance and collided with the opponent head first with unpleasant consequences in the SM league. Ilves junior has been in the public eye in recent years Nemo Pajulawho was seriously injured a year ago in the under-18 Championship match.
Urheilu asked two Finnish athletes who experienced paralysis what thoughts Hakala’s injury evokes.
Track winder Toni Piispanen and a table tennis player Only Tapola commented on what happened on a general level.
Piispa broke his neck in 1993 in a karate performance. At the age of 17, he fell head first to the ground after the volt had stopped halfway. The diagnosis at the hospital was quadriplegia. The bishop was confined to a wheelchair.
Like Piispanen, Hakala injured her neck. Hakala has received a huge number of congratulations and messages of support on her Instagram account after her story. Messages have come across sport boundaries, and not even just from the world of sports.
Piispanen considers the support of those close to him to be very important.
– It really relieved me that my close circle and friends were there. I found it really meaningful that people were present and involved. It was also important that I could participate in normal things that young people and parents do. I wasn’t left alone with the matter, describes Piispainen, a two-time Paralympic winner and world champion.
Sanni Hakala’s peer Aino Tapola became paralyzed at the age of 15.
Tapola fatally fell into a box filled with pieces of foam in the hall of Mäkelänrinte. Tapola fell in the so-called voltimonttu so badly on his neck that he lost his ability to exercise.
Tapola reminds us of the great importance of peer support. He has since become a WC silver and EC bronze medalist in para table tennis. Before that, he had been going to the gym and playing wheelchair rugby.
– The big turning point was meeting others in the same situation. Peer support has been the biggest factor for me, through which I have accepted the continuation of life. I understood that I can do the same things as non-disabled people, says Tapola.
– In the beginning, I saw psychologists and psychiatrists as such people that why would I explain anything to them. However, when they cannot understand because they are not in the same situation. That’s why I thought peer support was really important.
There is life even after an injury
Hakala, originally from Jyväskylä, admitted on Instagram that the current situation is of course deep, but she is not going to be afraid.
The two-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Cup medalist said that he doesn’t know his future plans, but thinks it’s something “damn fun”.
However, everyone experiences adversity in their own way. After the injury, Tapola was also diagnosed with chronic kidney infection.
– Nothing came of rehabilitation at the beginning. When the infection was treated, life began to smile. I stopped doing things. The first year was pretty terrible. Didn’t know what it was really about. Back then, it was just thought that being disabled makes you tired all the time, has a fever and is otherwise boring, Tapola tells about the stages before sports became meaningful in life again.
Bishop and Tapola also have to send greetings to Hakala and others who have experienced the same fate.
– I really hope for the strength to cope and push forward. Despite everything, the future certainly looks good, says Piispanen.
– There is life even after an injury. You just have to persevere through the initial horrible phase. Life is still falling into place, Tapola states.