McEwen well on way to full recovery

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This article was published 06/02/2018 (3017 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Laid up in a Winkler hospital bed last weekend, Mike McEwen wasn’t just itchy from chickenpox or self-conscious about the red marks dotting his body — he genuinely feared for his life.

“I’d be the first to admit when I was admitted to the hospital Thursday, I was pretty scared. At the time, I’m getting worse and worse, and I find out I have this rare complication and then your mind just goes from there,” he said in a conversation with the Free Press on Tuesday afternoon. “With everything that’s happening, it’s hard to see recovery at that point.

“I hadn’t slept in two days, so that’s not helping… lots of bad thoughts.”

The world-class curler was supposed to be on the ice at Winkler’s Centennial Arena, gunning for his third straight Manitoba men’s title. Instead, he was hooked up to IVs and getting drugs pumped into him at Boundary Trails Health Centre five kilometres away.

As a child, he somehow avoided getting chickenpox, but as a 37-year-old married father of one, he got hammered by it.

“I hadn’t been feeling well since the weekend, and Wednesday (after guiding his Fort Rouge team to an opening-round victory), it really started to eclipse that night. I was at a point where I went 48 hours where I didn’t get any sleep,” he said. “I wouldn’t describe it as an itch at any point — it was pain and fever. Most of the pain was localized from the neck up, concentrated on the head and scalp. Sleeping was impossible.”

He went to hospital Thursday morning, but returned to the home the team was renting with some medication and orders to rest. Later in the day, though, he sought medical attention again.

“There were other symptoms, too. It just felt like something else was wrong… a gut feeling. It was pretty alarming. The doctor had a hunch what was going on, got the blood work done and then had me diagnosed with a rare complication pretty quickly,” he said.

Doctors were concerned the virus had begun to cause internal complications.

“They were literally on the phone with specialists in Winnipeg trying to figure out how to get this under control before I had any permanent damage,” he said. “My liver was experiencing inflammation. That’s bad. With adult chickenpox, as with any virus, I guess, there’s always the potential. There was a lot of unknowns.”

McEwen’s wife, Dawn, was three provinces away curling with Jennifer Jones’s St. Vital team at the Scotties Canadian women’s championship, but required only a moment’s noticed to hop a plane.

“If things went south on me, she was ready to come home if my condition worsened. But I was assured things were under control,” he said.

McEwen raved about the level of care he received in Winkler.

“It couldn’t possibly have been any better, from the staff and the entire hospital. From my view, I felt like I had every opportunity to have the best care I could ask for. I’m sure it’s like that for every patient that goes there.”

While he was being treated, his teammates rolled through the Viterra Championship without him. Regular third B.J. Neufeld took over the skipping duties Thursday — and was named all-star skip for the five-day event — while second Matt Wozniak and lead Denni Neufeld each tossed three rocks per end.

They posted four straight victories as a three-man unit before losing to Reid Carruthers of West St. Paul in the 1-2 Page playoff game Saturday night. They rebounded to sideline J.T. Ryan of Assiniboine Memorial in the semifinal Sunday morning to set up a rematch with the Carruthers foursome.

McEwen watched the online scores and was texting family and friends to keep tabs on his crew’s progress. Wozniak and the Neufeld brothers also visited a couple of times, as did a lot of family and friends.

When McEwen was finally well enough to be released Sunday morning, the team met for lunch after the semifinal win, but really didn’t talk much curling. Ninety minutes before the final, they had their usual briefing before a big game.

“I said to them I don’t think I’d ever been prouder of those three guys and what they did to get to the final. I knew they could play that well, but was still shocked… three people, that run, pretty amazing,” McEwen asid.

Then, the topic of his possible return to the ice was raised.

“I made it clear it didn’t make sense to have me involved in any way, other than maybe being on the bench or coming out (to discuss strategy) during a timeout,” he said. “Then the conversation turned, and Matt said something like, “Why haven’t we talked about it?’ And that led to the three guys basically talking about what they felt was our best chance to win in the final.

“I told them I could easily be a big liability out there. Just from a shooting perspective, realistically, I’m not going to be the player I normally am. I wanted them to figure out what they felt was their best chance to beat Reid. But all three waded in and were strongly in favour of having me step out there with them.

“I wasn’t going to let them down, I wasn’t going to say no.”

Unbelievably, and despite strong indications all weekend to the contrary, McEwen played in the televised finale, receiving a wild ovation from the crowd when he was introduced for his fifth straight appearance in the provincial men’s final.

“I was the most nervous and had the most anxiety I have ever had stepping onto the ice, not knowing what my body was going to give me and feeling pretty underprepared,” he said.

McEwen called the game and delivered third stones, while Neufeld continued to throw last. Despite the gutsy effort by their leader, the two-time champions could not retain their crown, stealing a point in the ninth end to even the game, but giving up a single in the 10th to fall 7-6 to Carruthers, third Braeden Moskowy, second Derek Samagalski and lead Colin Hodgson, the 2015 champions.

McEwen admitted he missed some shots he normally would have made. But just as B.J. noted after the final, he said he had no regrets about reuniting with his teammates with so much on the line.

“I tried to give them 80 per cent,” he said. “I was happy with some of it. I made some big hits and run-backs. Where I was a little disappointed was with some of the touch shots, I missed a handful I should have been able to make. I probably lived up to expectations, but that still doesn’t feel great when your ceiling is not as high as it normally is.

“It was always going to be tough to beat Reid, especially when he starts with the hammer. I think we all felt having four guys on the ice gave us the best shot at winning. I wish I could have given them a little bit more.”

Convalescing at home with Dawn — who, astonishingly, captured yet another Scotties crown Sunday — and their two-year-old daughter, Vienna, McEwen said he is, indeed, on the road to a full recovery.

“I’m a lot better. Give me a few more days and I should be getting back pretty close to normal,” he said. “I have to do some followup tests to make sure there are no concerns with how the virus hit me. “

He says he’ll be good to go in a few weeks when the team kicks preparations into high gear for the “last chance” wild-card game on the eve of the 16-team Brier in Regina, March 3-11.

The McEwen quartet earned its way into the game as the top-ranked team in the Canadian Team Ranking System points standings. Their opponents will either be Jason Gunnlaugson, also of Winnipeg, or Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., although Jacobs is heavily favoured to win Northern Ontario and punch his ticket that way to the national playdowns.

“It’s a bit strange. It’s like we get to play two provincial finals to get to the Brier,” said McEwen, laughing. “I really hope it’s two Manitoba teams getting there.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell