from Curtis Rush of the Toronto Star,

One day, he woke up alone. His wife was gone and his three children — Alexa, 16, Hayden, 14, and Farrah, 10 — were with her (they have shared custody).

On the outside, it looked like a perfect life. A home in Phoenix. A family. But when the marriage ended, there was a house to sell, assets to split. A new place to live.

He was losing hope. But suddenly something clicked in him, and he thought that if he changed his thinking, something good would happen.

He tried it. Days went by and, he thought, this isn’t working. But he kept at it. Positive thoughts.

Little blessings were there, but he discounted them.

“We’re always looking for the big things,” he said. “There are a ton of good things that happen. We’re healthy and (in his case) I got to watch my daughter dance.”

Through Twitter, he found a great supporter in Stacy Lymber, who is a transition and lifestyle strategist who works mostly with ex-hockey players.

“He’s inspiring,” she said on the phone from Buffalo, N.Y., “but the sadder part about it is there are thousands out there more like him, not just hockey players. They’re lost, basically.”

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