Endicott College senior plays first game since suffering stroke

Senior Jack Smiley returned to the ice on Saturday night -- three years after a stroke threatened to end his hockey career at Endicott College. His journey from the ICU to the Raymond Bourque Arena was a long one. 

"Those first few days after the stroke happened, I was in complete shock," Smiley said. 

At just 22 years old, a hard hit during practice led to the stroke, paralyzing the right side of his body.

Dr. David Lin, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, was sitting in the stands alongside Smiley's parents at his first game back Saturday night. 

"He had a stroke in the brain stem, which is the area of the brain that connects the brain with the spinal cord and it was in a critical area that really is responsible for breaking and for movement,"  Lin said. "In his initial stroke, he really couldn't move at all, and you know, people were wondering whether he was going to make it."

Smiley faced a long and challenging rehabilitation process, learning to walk and talk again.

His father, Peter Smiley, recounted his son's unwavering determination. 

"He -- from very early -- was like, 'I'll be on the ice in three weeks, I'll be this in a month. I'll be that in a year.' And he met just about every milestone he set for himself," Peter Smiley said. "Now that he's actually to the point he's gotten to, we realize what a miracle it is that he's gotten to it."

The younger Smiley chalked up his unwavering determination to "delusion," with a laugh. 

"My mom likes to call it positive delusion, positivity, optimism, but I just never really let myself feel down and out," Smiley said.

The forward, his family, and his medical team never lost sight of the goal: a return to the rink. 

"It's really a full circle moment," physical therapist William Santana said. "It's not very often you get to see someone make that much of a recovery with the type of stroke that he had and get back to doing something as competitive and aggressive as hockey."

Three years after the accident, Smiley started his senior night game. His parents, his Massachusetts General neurologist, and his Spaulding Rehabilitation physical therapists were in the stands to witness the incredible milestone.

"Where he is today is a miracle in many ways," his father said. "Extreme pride is the ultimate emotion."

His mother, Debi Smiley, added, "To see your son who, three years ago almost to the day almost, couldn't eat, sit up, walk, talk to see him back on the ice and to be able to say to him have a great game is pretty incredible."

Smiley's message to anyone facing adversity is clear: "No one can tell you what's inside of you."