Former Boston Pride player Denna Laing was presented with the Dana Reeve Hope Award on Thursday night in New York.
Laing suffered a career-ending injury during the 2015 Women’s Winter Classic, the first outdoor professional women’s hockey game. After going headfirst into the boards, Laing was carted off the ice in a stretcher, and had limited movement of her arms and no feeling in her legs as the result of a spinal cord injury.
After receiving the award, Laing gave an emotional speech:
“To the foundation for being the first people, in collaboration with the NHL, to provide the support and the resources my family and I needed, and for pushing every day to not only better my life and the millions of people with spinal cord injuries, but to achieve Christopher Reeve’s dream of a world without wheelchairs.
“Knowing that dream is closer than ever because of the cutting edge research supported by the Reeve Foundation inspires me every day, as I do exactly what I told myself before that last shift: ‘All right Denna, you’ve got to pick it up, you’ve got to hustle, you’ve got to work your hardest.’
“They say success is inevitable when preparation meets opportunity. The Reeve Foundation is continuing its work to create the opportunity and I promise you all that when that day comes, I will have done the preparation.”
In September, NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin wrote a feature on Laing’s refusal to succumb to her disability, as she’s working hard toward a recovery.
Dana Reeve, an actress and singer, died of lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 44. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal chord injury by funding research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis.
“Anyone who’s spent any amount of time with Denna knows how special she is right away,” said Dana’s son Will Reeve before Laing was presented with the award. “She is an incredible person. She’s an incredible fighter. She’s an incredible advocate, for herself and for people with spinal cord injuries. And we try to honor people that … embody the spirit of the people after whom the awards are named, in this case my mom, Dana Reeve.”
[NHL.com]