What happened to Colby Cave isn’t supposed to happen to 25-year-old athletes.

Cave, a forward for the Edmonton Oilers, remains in a medically induced coma to allow his brain to heal after emergency surgery, leading his wife to make an emotional social media plea to “please wake up. Please wake up. It’s all I can keep asking, ‘he’s going to wake up, right?’ We need a miracle.”

Colby Cave played 23 games with the Bruins before moving on to Edmonton. Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

Emily Cave made the plea Wednesday on Instagram, and while his condition is unrelated to the novel coronavirus pandemic, he is separated from his family because of physical distancing restrictions.

“Colby’s parents and myself, got to see him through a window and talk to him with a walkie talkie last night,” she wrote, including a photo of their wedding. “We are no longer allowed to be in the hospital because covid-19 rules. We have no idea when we will be allowed to see him again.”

Cave had surgery Tuesday in Toronto to remove a colloid cyst, an unusual, generally benign collection of fluid that was causing pressure on his brain, according to the Oilers.

“What do you say? What are the words for this? It’s unbelievable,” Cave’s agent, Jason Davidson, told Sportsnet on Tuesday. “There is bleeding on the brain. He is in a medically induced coma, and he was headed for the critical care unit. The most confusing part for everyone is that you’re talking about a young, healthy athlete. This isn’t supposed to happen to people to like Colby.”

He had complained of headaches and was taken to a hospital Monday in Barrie, Ontario, where Cave and his wife were physically isolating during the coronavirus pandemic and suspension of the NHL season. From there, he was airlifted to Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.

Cave, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Battleford, Saskatchewan, is in his second season with the Oilers after being claimed off waivers from the Boston Bruins in January 2019. Over his four seasons and 67 games in the NHL, he has nine points on four goals and five assists.

Oilers General Manager Ken Hollard described Cave as “a true battler” during a career that has had its ups and downs. Davidson echoed that.

“He’s a warrior, a soldier,” Davidson said. “If anyone will come out of this healthy, it will be Colby.”

Until then, his family continues its vigil, with Emily writing that being kept at a distance has “shattered” her heart “into a million pieces.”

“The nurse has tied his wedding band to his ankle. I am dreaming of being able to touch you, hear your voice, squeeze your hand (3 times), and kiss you again,” she wrote. “I love you so much, and my heart is shattered into a million pieces without my best friend Out of difficulties grows miracles- 1 Peter 5:10”

Comments are not available on this story.

filed under: