PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Returning to practice on Thursday, his status to play is labeled as day-to-day. Probably no one on the team understands that life is day-to-day more than Kris Letang.
The Pens record-setter told us about his reaction, his families' reaction, what exactly happened last Monday suffering a second stroke and being back with the team.
While the 35-year-old is outwardly in tremendous physical shape, he suffers from intense headaches and said 10 days ago it was worse than normal.
"In the past I've had migraines a lot and usually the timeframe is, like maybe it lasts two hours," Letang said Thursday. "A half hour struggling with my vision, get headaches or nauseous, I throw up or go to sleep. They were happening every three hours, they kept coming, coming and coming. That's when I made notice of that cycle. They booked me an MRI right away and that's when they found it. Went to the hospital to get monitored."
Then there is the part for Letang of telling his family. Their reaction is probably what you would expect.
"Scary to be honest," Letang said. "They, my kids, they don't care if I'm a hockey player or not. They care about having a dad. Same with my wife, she could care less about hockey, she knows there's so much more, after hockey there's a long time and you want to be able to enjoy those moments with your family, with your kids."
"It was hard, but like I said, we've been through this, me and Dr Dharmesh Vyas have a clear understanding that we're going to take all the time we need and make sure the research is possible and it's no danger for me to keep going."
Dr. Vyas said he's cleared to go and feels comfortable because he knows the cause, a small hole in his heart, not anything to do with playing hockey. They know how to treat it and it was a 'smaller' stroke.
Even though he's cleared to practice and been through it before, Letang isn't going to minimize the danger.
"It's a scary word," Letang said. "Stroke is a scary word. I think, I'm lucky to have the staff that we have. I know I'm in good hands. I've been lucky that these things resolve on their own and I can go back to a normal life."
"People know me well by now and they know that hockey is a passion for me. It's something, that it's going to take a lot to drag me out of it so but at the same time, I know the danger. I know everything and I made sure that I know all the risks I'm taking and if there's none, I will resume playing and that's what's the case right now."
He skated a few days after last week's stroke, but by himself. Being back with his teammates, his friends, was important for him.
"Mentally I feel good to be back to be honest," Letang said. "It's always hard to be on the sideline. I know health comes first and I'm really lucky to have the staff that we have. Been with Dharmesh for almost a decade now ... I know he's doing everything he can to make sure I'm safe. We're taking all the time we need to figure this thing out and like he said, when I feel ready to go and practice like I did today, he's going to give me the green light if it's safe to be."
In the meantime, he wants to be treated like any other player, or if you see him in public, like any other person. Letang just wants to get back to doing what he's done for a couple of decades of his life, lace up the skates and play hockey.
