A Famous NHL Goalie Put A Bullet In His Head, And He Wants Everyone To Know Why
Trigger warning: graphic description of a suicide attempt.When you're paid to be tough and are idolized by millions, it's hard to admit when things don't feel right. Now he's helping other people speak out.
Here's Clint Malarchuk — former NHL goalie, cowboy, macho guy, and all-around hero. He also survived the most gruesome injury in NHL history, when his throat was accidentally slashed by a skate on live TV.
Not only did he NOT get counseling, he was back on the ice 10 days later. It was part of his "I'm a tough guy, I don't need help" attitude.
What was behind the mask that most people didn't know about? Clint was suffering from depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress. One day on his ranch, he took a gun and put a bullet in his head. He survived.
When Clint woke up from a coma, he was determined to use his fame to help other people. He finally opened up about his mental health issues, hoping to help break down the stigma.
He wrote a book called "The Crazy Game." In it, he says that struggling with mental illness was way more painful than having his throat slashed. Clint opens up about the pain and his path to getting help.
Clint says that many people with mental health issues don't speak up from fear of being judged but that it can change as society's attitude changes. He points out that if someone had cancer, they'd likely tell their boss, yet they hide mental illness even though it's an ailment as well.
He compares "getting depressed from a lack of serotonin" with "getting diabetes from a lack of insulin," stating they're both chemical imbalances. So why does the person with depression have more stigma attached?
Mental illness is not a weakness. In fact, Clint realized the toughest thing he ever did ... was to allow himself to talk about it.
Here's the full interview. (Warning: The throat-slashing skate injury appears from 0:14 to 0:27.)
I don't watch hockey, but I know a brave person when I see one.



A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 



An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.