Joonas Pylsy is still recovering from the brain attack he suffered in November. He hopes to play floorball again, while he may have to face the fact that his career is over.
When the floorball WC was played in November, Joonas Pylsy was part of the Finnish team. He missed Finland’s first two matches due to a cold but was due to play when Finland faced Norway in the third group stage match.
But in the middle of the warm-up, Pylsy left the field and did not start the match. The reason was shrouded in obscurity and only five days later, when Finland won bronze in the WC, did it become known that he had suffered a brain infarction.
Two and a half months later, Pylsy is now ready to tell his story about the WC that became a nightmare.
The flu symptoms had subsided a few days earlier, but during the warm-up before the match against Norway, Pylsy began to feel dizzy.
– The dizziness just got worse and worse. I sat on the bench for a while to rest a bit and then tried again. Nothing came of it. Then I got help to get to an infirmary and then the dizziness was so strong that I couldn’t stand up anymore, he tells Yle Urheilu in his home in Switzerland.
The dizziness did not go away and he was taken to hospital by ambulance. Pylys also realized the seriousness of the situation when he could not speak.
– The brain knew what it wanted to say, but I couldn’t form it into words. I became completely paralyzed on the left side of my body and everything became a blur. I tried to reassure everyone that everything was fine, but it was difficult when you can’t speak or show with your hands, he says.
Pylsy would have played for Finland in the WC.
Photo: CTK/All Over Press
Joonas Pylsy
The son was taken to a children’s hospital
Pylsy did not need surgery but he was treated first in the intensive care unit, then in a neurological ward and finally in a regular ward. He spent two weeks in hospital and three in rehabilitation.
A week after the heart attack, Pylsy was able to walk under the care of a nurse, then with the help of a dropper and finally on his own machine even though he still had problems with his vision.
While all this was happening, another struggle was going on in Pylsy’s family.
– Our little son had a high fever, they took a corona test which was positive. My wife went with him to the children’s hospital while I stayed in the intensive care unit at another hospital, says Joonas Pylsy.
– It was really difficult as you didn’t know what would happen to Joonas. We took one day at a time to see if it would go for the better or for the worse, says wife Tea Pylsy.
It still went well for the son, while life went on in a fog for a few weeks.
Joonas Pylsy with his wife Tea and their two children at home in Switzerland.
Photo: Aki Lahtinen
Joonas Pylsy
Little contact with the national team
At the beginning of the hospital stay, Joonas Pylsy was visited by national team mates, but after the WC the team flew home to Finland while Pylsy remained in Switzerland. Then the contact decreased.
– It took a long time before I heard anything, almost a month before we were in contact with the national team and the association. With some it took even longer. Maybe you should also keep in touch and support right to the end, he says.
Pekka Ilmivalta, who is the CEO of the floorball association, gives his view on the matter:
– If he feels that there has been too little contact, that is certainly true. Based on that, I should have been in contact with him more often. It is difficult to assess a person’s condition. From what I have understood, several people have been in contact with him during this time, but there could certainly have been more, he says.
It is unclear whether the career can continue
It is still unclear what caused the brain infarction. The worst is over now for Pylsy although he still has problems with his balance and gets tired easily.
Pylsy praises the treatment he has received in Switzerland and also how his Swiss club have handled everything. The club would like to see Pylsy back on the field, but no one yet knows if he will be able to make a comeback.
– The best scenario would be that I can put my shoes back on and play without the risk of something like this. But for me, it is enough to be able to live a normal life and be able to work.
– I have managed it so that at the age of 33 I have achieved enough that it is not a disaster if the career ends. The most important thing is to be able to return to a normal family life, he says.
The text is a translation and adaptation of Yle Urheilu’s article Joonas Pylsy, who has been diagnosed with an aiivoin infarction during the MM tournauksen, is in painajaisestaan - oma vauva taisteli haisalassa hengestä samaan agaan written by Hinni Hirvonen and Kimmo Porttila.
