Little did we know that when my then 10 year old daughter, Chelsea, started watching the 2006 Olympics that she would fall in love with the game of curling and be a forever fan of Brad Gushue. Or maybe it was the other way around!!
Gushue and his team won the Olympics and this was the start of watching curling and being a couch coach. Chelsea seemed to be catching on to the strategies and would call the plays from the couch.
The following year she joined the Junior Curling Academy in our hometown to learn how to put the plays into action on the ice which was a bit of a challenge.
At a very young age, at birth or shortly afterwards, Chelsea experienced a stroke, a one time incident. She was initially diagnosed with cerebral palsy until at the age of 6, she had a seizure. After thorough investigation, it was determined that she had a stroke. This resulted in right side hemiplegia where she did not acknowledge that she had a right arm or leg. We engaged in physiotherapy; she learned how to walk with a gait by the age of two but did not have control over the use of her right hand.
On the ice, this resulted in lack of balance and not being able to get down in the hack. She learned how to use the delivery stick and enjoyed playing the game all through middle and high school. One summer she attended a curling camp at the Savill Centre in Edmonton. By the end of the week, Chelsea was delivering stones from the hack. She and everyone were very proud of her reaching that goal.
We took every possible opportunity to attend big curling events, especially if Gushue and team were playing. In 2008, the Brier was in Winnipeg and so was Brad Gushue. I reached out to the coach who in turn organized a meet and greet with the team. So we woke up very early and drove the four hours to Wgp. Chelsea was not aware of the plan but sensed I was up to something when I got a phone call and kept looking around. She was totally surprised when I said to follow me as we were going to meet Gushue and team. Being a bit shy and shocked, she hid in the bathroom. I eventually got her to come out and meet da boys!! It was a moment to remember. The photo is of when we met them. I am forever grateful to the coach for answering my email and granting this wish for my daughter.
Chelsea continued to curl at school, coach for the Junior Academy to share her passion. Curling is on the tube or phone to watch all the big events. We have curled as a family and I’m sure that she will offer the opportunity to her two daughters when they are old enough.
Tonight, watching the start of the Scotties, Chelsea asked her girls (5 and 2), “Are you going to watch curling with me tonight?” And in unison, the girls responded, “YA!!”
