Quadriplegic Jari Mönkkönen has offered peer support to seriously injured people.
Jari Mönkkönen immediately sent a message To Sanni Hakala.
– I said that I am ready to talk to him as soon as he wants or as soon as he is ready.
The news about Hakala’s unfortunate situation spread quickly around the world on Thursday. In the match played last weekend, the Finnish striker of the Swedish team HV71 fell in a contact situation and slid headfirst into the goal post.
On Thursday, Hakala and HV71 published a press release. Hakala said that she is paralyzed from the chest down. Hands work, but not fully. Mönkkönen also saw the news.
– It’s really rough if a young athlete loses his ability to exercise, he says.
Mönkkönen, a quadriplegic former top gymnast, knows how tough it is for an athlete. She is Say-talked about it openly in public with his wife.
Mönkkönen has encountered people who have been injured worse than himself. Some encounters have been brutal. Situations are not easy to face.
In the same breath, he reminds that Hakala has a rehabilitation process ahead of her, and based on the information shared in the public, hope is not lost.
– It is good to remember that the current situation is not final. The situation may improve over many years.
– I wish Sanni a lot of strength. The big thing is to get caught up in some kind of new rhythm of life. A person adapts pretty well to everything, but it can take years.
“It was a big deal”
Former top gymnast Jari Mönkkönen has offered peer support to the seriously injured. Inka Soveri
During the first weeks and months, Mönkkönen fought a tough mental battle.
The soul hole was the wife, children and close relatives.
– The amount of anxiety and sadness is hard to describe. It was so crushing for me that my mind was about to leave. It was a year or two before I got over the biggest difficulty.
He reminds us that recovery and rehabilitation is individual. The thoughts of one person who asked Mönkkösen for peer support became clearer in a few months.
– Of course, it is difficult to say whether so little time had passed since the injury at that time and whether he had fully understood the matter.
Mönkkönen remembers that his first four to five years contained both ups and downs.
– It was a big deal when I got medication to control the nerve pain.
– Finding new interests really helped a lot. I have a business in the sports industry. The coaching helped, and I got ideas elsewhere. In addition, I have been doing photography for almost twenty years. I enjoy photography and photo editing.
Helpers are important
Mönkkönen immediately sent a message to ice hockey player Sanni Hakala. Miikka Jääskeläinen / AOP
On the other hand, Mönkkönen did not want peer support, even though it was offered to him several times. He handled things by himself and with the support of his family.
– But one tip I would give is that you should ask for help with assistant matters. With their help, you can do things in life, so they play a really important role.
The topic turns social. Mönkkönen ponders how to improve assistant arrangements in Finland.
He has thought that the situation would be much easier if the rest of the family could live their everyday life in a different apartment in the same town.
– So many strangers come through my door a year that it inevitably affects the family dynamics. You should also be able to support the family. You should think about how to organize privacy for the family.