Tough end to Dulla’s career at Barrington
Zach Dulla was released from Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington on Friday, but his high school hockey career is over.
Dulla, 17, a senior who also excelled on the football field, suffered a collapsed lung during a game Feb.3 — and spent eight nights in the hospital.
“It’s nice to finally have my life getting back together after such a long process,” Dulla said. “I’m just glad that the surgeries and procedures are over and I’m back sleeping in my own bed.
“In the long run, all should heal back to normal in about two months. Time is the only cure for this type of injury and I’m just going to have to wait it out.”
While his teammates battle for the Blackhawk Cup later this month.
“From what the doctors have told me, I cannot be involved in any contact (sport) for over two months,” said Dulla, a forward. “If I came back too soon, the likelihood of this same injury occurring would be greatly increased. Taking a quarter of the hit I took (Feb. 3), which I usually take every game, could cause my lung to collapse once again and we would have to start from square one.
“As much as my heart is telling me to get back on the ice, my parents and doctors are refusing to let me put myself at such a high risk. It’s tough to realize I cannot further help my team on the ice this year, but I will be at every game cheering and rooting them on.”
Dulla has been playing hockey since he was 4 and this is his first serious injury.
“Hockey is a physical game and that’s the risk you take every time you step on the ice,” he said. “Injuries happen from time to time and you just have to live with them.
“The biggest surprise of this past week was just the sole fact of how quickly something can be taken away from you. You work all season long to get to this point of the season, and on the last game before playoffs, (which was) Senior Night, you end up having a season-ending injury. It’s not the way you want to go out, but I just keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason and that gets me through the next day.”
Dulla said his treatment now is simply rest.
“It’s amazing how just a simple play in hockey can bring out the true side of people,” Dulla said. “I just want to thank everyone who visited me in the hospital and continuously called to check in.
“I especially want to thank (Barrington) coach Rob Hutson for everything he’s done throughout the past week. Besides my parents, he was the one who stopped by the most. A day never passed without a text or a call from him. He made this process so much easier.
“My parents, Jay and Patti Dulla, helped me day by day to recover. I would not have made it through this recovery without them by my side.
“My mother spent endless nights refusing to leave the hospital and sleeping in the uncomfortable recliner chair next to bed side just in case something went wrong. If I needed anything, one of them would always be there.”