Hockey players are taught a lesson as soon as they skate for the first time. When you fall, you get back up.
Macomb Dakota defenseman Anthony Mastronardi always got back up.
This past season, when his parents watched him crash into the boards, they expected him to get to his feet.
"It wasn't a malicious play. They were both going for the puck in the corner, they fell and hit the boards," Al Mastronardi, Anthony's dad, said.
"(We) stood there for a couple seconds like (we) did every time."
Anthony didn't get back up.
And so they knew something was wrong.
Anthony, a high school junior, suffered a severe spinal injury and a brain bleed. He was paralyzed from the neck down. For a defenseman who hates the spotlight, the entire rink was staring at him in a moment his parents can't describe without getting emotional.
"If he got bumped, if he got hit, he got up. But he never laid on the ice. So I knew it was bad," Sarahanne, his mother, recalled.
That was in December. For the next five months, Anthony lived at the hospital. His mom stayed with him during the week, and dad tapped in on the weekends.
"They mean everything to me," Anthony said.
There has been some tremendous progress. During our visit at DMC's Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Anthony showed how far he's come. He has worked to get arm and trunk movement, and he went through exercises to improve his wrist strength.
The visitors came from the moment Anthony entered the hospital that December night.
"It means a lot," he said about his teammates visiting, holding back tears.
Dakota's hockey team moved the annual Christmas party to the hospital, and then his teammates named Anthony the team's MVP for the 2016-17 season.
When the Red Wings caught wind of Anthony's story, they sent a fellow defenseman to the ICU.
Anthony said his favorite player was Niklas Kronwall. When Danny DeKeyser showed up, he told the Mastronardis he was sorry, but Kronwall was busy.
When I asked Anthony who his favorite Red Wings player is today, his answer came out quickly.
"Danny DeKeyser. For sure," he smiled.
The Red Wings invited the Mastronardis to a game, and Anthony said DeKeyser remembered him by name and picked up their conversation where they left off.
"That meant a lot to Anthony. It meant a lot to him. He said, 'He talked to me like I was a real guy, Mom,'" Sarahanne said.
This month, the Mastronardis got to bring their son home. Five months in the hospital, in what Anthony called an experience equivalent to staying at a hotel with nothing to do: over.
This weekend, he'll get to wear his Dakota Cougars jersey again. His senior teammates are joining forces with seniors from neighboring schools to play against the Red Wings alumni in a game to benefit the Mastronardis. All proceeds go to the family's efforts to ensure Anthony's rehab continues well at home.
When I asked Anthony why he smiles so much in the face of his life turning upside down, he paused only momentarily.
"Because you don't want to be miserable when you're going through hell. I'm smiling to keep going," he said.
SUNDAY'S GAME IS AT 6 PM AT FRASER HOCKEY LAND: 34400 UTICA RD, FRASER, MI
