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A Manorville dad and longtime Verizon employee who was rushed to the hospital last week after suffering a freak neck injury during a recreational league hockey game is showing signs of improvement, according to an update on a fundraising page established on his behalf.
Bobby Pollock, 53, was injured on the ice during a March 25 game at The Rinx in Hauppauge and needed emergency surgery to repair multiple fractures in his neck. He also hurt his spine, and had initially lost all feeling and mobility from his shoulders down.
Pollock was able to move his feet the second day after surgery and has since “fought hard to move his feet and his thumb,” his longtime friend Jim Cestare reported on a GoFundMe page that is raising money to offset the financial hardship that Pollock, his wife Jennifer, and their four children face during his recovery.
Cestare further said that Pollock has been taken off most of his intravenous medications and that he is eating well. Some time over the next several days, Pollock is expected to be transferred to a rehabilitation center to continue his recovery and undergo intense physical therapy.
Cestare wrote that the the doctors said a full recovery is “absolutely attainable, but the road will be tough and long (up to 2 years).”
Meanwhile, family, friends and the community are flooding the Pollocks with support. Nearly 700 donations totaling more than $81,500 have been given at two separate GoFundMe fundraisers for the Pollocks.
“Anyone who has had the privilege of meeting Bob, would consider him a friend, and has subsequently been devastated by the terrible news we received,” Cestare wrote on the GoFundMe page he created. “Your help at this time will ensure that his loving wife, Jenn, and four beautiful children, Bobby, Brady, Gianna and Owen, will have the financial help they may need to help navigate the road ahead.”
Pollock, whose wife is a longtime teacher in Patchogue-Medford schools and whose son is an outfielder on Farmingdale College‘s baseball team, was injured while playing for Island Empanadas hockey club in the 50-and-over Island Ice Hockey Midnight Hockey League.
With six goals in five games played, he is tied for second on the team in scoring. His team is in first place in the Over 50 Weeknight division.
On Facebook, Pollock’s friend Michael Gendron wrote, “Bob is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, with a smile on his face and a willingness to help anyone who needs a hand!”
Top photo: Bobby Pollock with his wife and children (GoFundMe).
