The Long Journey Back For Former Viper Mark Hall:

This is in the Kamloops Newspaper:

The long journey back

Published: December 27, 2008

For Mark Hall, spending the season sitting in the stands of Interior Savings Centre (ISC) has been painful — more painful than the two surgeries he’s had on his right medial collateral ligament (MCL) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Because for him, sitting in the stands while the Kamloops Blazers take to the ice is worse than any injury.
Hall sustained a tear on his ACL prior to the start of training camp when he was at ISC getting some time on the ice in preparations for the start of the season.
Since then, he’s been waiting to lace up his skates and return to the team.
Hall had two surgeries, the first, just weeks after the injury to his meniscus, at which point he was able to begin rehab almost immediately.
But after having surgery on his ACL on Dec. 12, the rehab process has slowed down. He only returned to his rehab last week.
He’s still waiting for the swelling to go down and he has to wear a cryo-cuff 24 hours a day. The cryo-cuff has ice-cold water that helps keep the swelling down.
“The first surgery was good. The rehab was basic little things. It took a couple of weeks to get back into things. This one will take a little while to get back into the groove. But it will be worth it in the end,” Hall said.
Hall had to have his meniscus surgery first and allow that to heal before the ACL reconstruction.
The recovery time with the ACL will leave Hall hobbling around on crutches for about six weeks, but he’s hoping by the end of February to be on the ice doing some light skating.
The time away from the ice has allowed Hall to grow, as he has had to deal with the adversity.
“I’ve spent a lot of hours at home in bed watching TV shows, and I’ve memorized what time TV shows are on. I play a lot of Xbox,” Hall said.
“It’s not the greatest, but it isn’t anything I can change now.
“I just have to take the cards I’ve been dealt and go with it. Hopefully they [the Blazers] can go far in playoffs and I can help them out.”
Mark Hall is looking ahead to returning to the ice