The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Myles Masse has learned to battle the tough things in life and the meaning of it through his mother, Sharon. She might be the toughest one in the family because she suffers from Fibromyalgia (FM), which causes pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. She was diagnosed with FM at 18. "She worked as a nurse and then my brother had a hockey tournament out of town," explained Masse, who grew up in Regina. "So they took the bus there, the bus rolled and she broke her back and it's never been the same." Her condition is off and on, but during the winter it gets bad because of the cold. Summer, though, is friendlier. "It's kind of hard to watch her go through some pain sometimes," he said. "Like sometimes she can't even get out of bed. We just fight through it. I have a brother and a sister, but they're older than me and don't live at home. They always help around the house too and come over and we all try to take care of her as much as possible." Like any hockey parents, the Masses go the distance for their son. "When I was younger, both my parents would come to everything. Every practice, every game and all that, but then since I moved to Yorkton for hockey, the drive for her has been kind of tough," said Masse. "She's made it to most of them. I don't think there's been one game the past couple years where my dad's gone and my mom hasn't. It is pretty tough on her, but she battles through it to come watch me play. I'm really grateful for that." The Masses have only made it to a few games at the Whitney Forum, but on the road they get to watch their son play. "Anytime I get to see her it's great," Masse said. "I'm away from home. You know, to see her at the rink and see her in some pain sometimes and come to support me, it just gives me that extra strength to play harder." Masse talks to his mother every day and she tells him every single time how proud the family is of him. They have reason to. How many parents can say their kid is playing hockey at the Junior A level? "They don't have to say that or anything like that, but it just makes me feel awesome when I know my mom's proud of me because I'm very proud of her, too," he said. "My parents are my best fans, but my worst critics," Masse explained. "They've helped me along the way and they've told me what I need to improve or what I am doing good and they've helped me out a lot and they are my best influences for hockey." Masse has many fond memories, but he talked about a time when he and his mother went skating. "She'd take me out skating sometimes when I was younger," Masse explained. "Like the first time when I'd be able to skate was probably when I was like four or something. She came running home to my dad and said, 'Oh my god, Ralph, he can skate.' So he came out there, he just stared at me and he's like, 'What are you doing?' and I was just standing there and I'm like, 'I'm a goalie, I don't want to skate' and he was just right mad. I still find that pretty funny."
