Jablonski Removes Brace from Head, Neck

In a sign of his continued progress, Jack Jablonski got rid of his head and neck halo brace today.

Jablonski, a sophomore hockey player who sustained a serious spinal cord injury during a game on Dec. 30, had worn the nine-pound metal support since he got hurt.

A CaringBridge post summed up his and his family's feeling with the headline: "Oh Happy Day! Free at Last!"

Talk about lifting a weight off your shoulders. Literally. You should have seen the ear-to-ear grin on his face when nine pounds of metal that supported Jack's head, neck and upper body went by the wayside. 

His smile was as huge as the one he wore when his BSM varsity teammates last Saturday. A huge congrats to the Red Knights. It was a sweet ending to a surreal season.

However, it hasn't been a perfect week, as Jablonski is also recovering from being sick:

Jack battled a nasty bug last week, which prevented him from attending the state tourney hockey banquet and one of the three BSM games. We even had him hooked up to an IV drip in hopes of making him feel well enough to go to such monumental events, but no such luck. 

But, on one of his better days, we made Jack's fave meal as part of his occupational therapy—my Mom's Swedish meatballs. He actually helped with the prep work as he was able to stir some of the ingredients, roll the meatballs in flour, and most importantly, participate in multiple taste tests. He was in gastro heaven.

With the halo off, Jablonski will be moving forward with a different approach to his , working now to improve neck and upper body strength. Jablonski is expected to return home from Sister Kenny later this spring.