51视频

11/09/2016
By David Perry

You鈥檇 be surprised what a sled can do.聽

When Marc Fountain and Ian Ramsdell first settled their broken bodies into the buckets of ice hockey sleds, they were unsteady. Sitting a few inches above the ice, the men had to learn to maneuver the metal sleds, which sit on top of slim blades, and propel themselves using two shortened, angled sticks.

However, it didn鈥檛 take long for Fountain and Ramsdell, both student-veterans, to find their balance. And then they found themselves.聽

Fountain, 49, and Ramsdell, 35, are mainstays of the university鈥檚 Student Veterans' Organization聽鈥� Fountain as president, Ramsdell as treasurer. Both spent youthful hours playing pond hockey in Lynn, where they grew up more than a decade apart. Now the two churn up the ice with the , a group of disabled players. In April, the team won the Adult Sled C national championship at the in Fraser, Mich. They are currently raising funds to attend the 2017 festival in San Jose, Calif.

On Nov. 4, they were among the student-veterans who dropped the puck before the River Hawks men鈥檚 hockey game at the Tsongas Center. Between periods, they demonstrated sled hockey. The crowd loved it, especially when the agile Ramsdell scored a goal.

鈥淲hen I scored and the crowd cheered it was a great experience,鈥� Ramsdell says. Better still were all the kids who approached the players after the game and told them how 鈥渁wesome鈥� it was.

Involvement with the Warriors has helped both Ramsdell and Fountain adjust to life as student-veterans. Nine of 13 players on the team are veterans and their wounds are not always visible. Ramsdell鈥檚 pain and stress seem to disappear when he settles into his ice hockey sled, says his wife Nichole.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a team,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is about a family.鈥�

Fountain, a senior psychology major with a minor in disability studies, spent 23 years in the military. He made it through two bouts of testicular cancer, but when he had surgery to repair damaged hips, they found more tumors.聽

Initially joining the Air Force as a dog handler in 1986, he signed up for the Army Reserve 12 years later and became a drill sergeant. The cancer, he says, was from exposure to the chemicals he handled to treat the dogs for fleas and ticks.

鈥淏asically, we were exposed to Agent Orange,鈥� he says.

Over nearly two years, his weight plummeted from 215 to 132 pounds. He was confined to a bed, then a wheelchair.聽

鈥淚 went from going 100 miles per hour to doing nothing,鈥� Fountain says. 鈥淚 felt like I was on my death bed.鈥�

He was medically retired from the service the day he began classes at 51视频 in September 2013.

Recovery has been slow. He no longer uses a wheelchair, though he lives with pain.聽

鈥淚 have good and bad days. The biggest thing has been adjusting from being so physically active. You adapt and find things to do and enjoy,鈥� Fountain says.

Last year, when Ramsdell mentioned ice hockey, it sparked good memories for Fountain.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 not able to play stand-up hockey any more, but when Ian got me on the sled, it was the first time I鈥檇 played hockey in seven years. That was my introduction to the New England Warriors, and it鈥檚 a great way to get back to doing something I love while being with veterans, experiencing that camaraderie.鈥�

The team includes players from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.聽

鈥淓verybody gives everybody else a lift-up,鈥� Fountain says.

Ramsdell, 35, learned of sled hockey from a pal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who dragged him to a session. By the end, 鈥測ou just about had to drag me off the ice,鈥� he recalled.

Ramsdell joined the Navy out of high school in 1999, hoping to become an elite SEAL. But that dream ended during training when he dislocated a shoulder. He worked as a naval police officer and was injured during a tour of duty in Iraq.

Exacerbated by 12-hour sessions on his feet during gate duty, his pain worsened, as did his post-traumatic stress disorder.聽

He self-medicated with alcohol.

鈥淢y pain level was through the roof,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 wondered, would it be like this for the rest of my life?鈥�

鈥淲hen he got to Walter Reed, he was completely shut down,鈥� says his wife. 鈥淎nd then when he started sled hockey, you started to see his old self come out. You see the camaraderie these folks have. They are in a unit again.鈥�

Sometimes they win, and sometimes they don鈥檛.

The final score doesn鈥檛 matter that much to Fountain.

鈥淲e know it鈥檚 not the same as stand-up hockey,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different game. But we鈥檙e different players.鈥�

Ramsdell has a goal. He wants to play the nationally ranked in sled hockey. He鈥檚 confident of the Warriors鈥� ability to compete. 聽

鈥淲e鈥檇 give 鈥檈m a good run,鈥� he says.