An AWESOME Tell... the Show to come later!

Kickin' off my brand spankin' new blog with an impactful story that I have to tell over, and over, and over again. I originally posted about my experiences at Sick Kids in Toronto 12-04-2004, 02:22 AM. I posted in an area called 'Show & Tell'

Sorry I can't really keep this brief, but I really want to tell the whole world! Well, as some of you may know, Junior (my six year old son) needed to have his third heart surgery on Thursday December second . Here is a synopsis of how the week has went.

MONDAY NOV 29 - The Family & Grandpa D drove to Toronto for our stay at the Hospital for Sick Children.

After unpacking our things in the smallest living space that I have ever encountered, I picked up the newspaper and noticed an ad for the upcoming Baby Sens vs. the Baby Leafs games on Wednesday & Friday of this week. That got me thinking... (as some of you may know) Anton Volchenkov is Junior's absolute favourite player. Anton likely would be in Toronto during Junior's stay. How awesome would it be if Anton could come & visit Junior before going into surgery! Well, I did make a whole bunch of calls, but I was only able to talk to machines . I told my wife of what I was trying to arrange, she wished me luck but told me that I should not tell Jr., for fear of disappointing him if it could not be arranged.

TUESDAY NOV 30 - An extremely long tiring day of hurry up & wait. Ten hours of waiting around... is EXTREMELY EXHAUSTING! When we got back to "the Residence College Hotel Hostel" (heavy on the hostel side), I had a message waiting for me from the Senators: They reminded me that they really have no control over what the Binghamton Senators do, but my request was being forwarded to the top Ottawa Senators brass - as they were in Toronto too - to watch the young prospects. They said that someone would likely be calling me tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY DEC. 1 - The whole family went to the Hockey Hall of Fame for the afternoon on Wednesday & had a great time... Junior really loved the interactive hockey games . I was able to connect with the Senators, and things were looking fairly positive, until I was unable to tell them what room Junior would be in Thursday or what time Junior would be going into surgery. This was not a case of ignorance, the Hospital just cannot let you know these things for certain. The Senators staff told me they would try their best.

I had also been calling Ronald McDonald House regularly to see if they had a room available for the family to no avail. I went over myself to check it out & somewhat plead my case. I needed to get my mind off the pending surgery. During my brief visit, they offered my a handful of tickets to the game! I have never been one to allow free hockey tickets to go to waste, and what better way to take my mind off things than to enjoy a little hockey.
Mom & Grandpa wanted to sleep & Mom did not want me to take Junior, as she feared Jr. might get sick before the surgery...

So I put on my Senators jersey & headed to the game by myself.

At the rink, I was wandering all around the Air Canda Centre, not knowing where the seats were...

other than they were in the third bowl.

I found my seat with the help of Maple Leafs staff...

IN THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS ALUMNI BOX!!!

Wow!

They treated me like gold!

I was the only one in the box.

They fed me.

They poured beverages for me.

Brian Burke was filming all his segments on TSN right beside me. It was funny though... the multitudes of Leaf fans were shocked to see someone in a Senators jersey in the Leafs Alumni box! I didn't know I would be sitting there... despite the Sens loss, I had a great time & was stress free.

THURSDAY DEC. 2 - SURGERY DAY - We wake up at 4:00 AM, getting everyone ready for the day that begins at 6:00 AM. At 9:00 AM, it has become clear that the earliest that Junior will go into surgery is 1:00. By now, the Senators Director of Media Relations Phil Legault let me know that Anton would be at practice until 11:45 & he has an important NHLPA meeting at 1:00. Scheduling the visit looked to be difficult, so I asked if Anton could just send a little note just pass along his best wishes. Phil Legault asks if they can come by after the union meeting, but I told him that Junior would likely be in surgery and that my wife & I would be a mess. Well, Noon rolls around and the nurses come in to the waiting room to tell me that the Senators would be there within the hour!!!! I asked Junior if he would like to see Anton Volchenkov, "Yes" - of course, but he didn't really take me seriously. Well, at roughly 12:45, Jr. was in shock & awe. It also seemed that Phil Legault & Anton Volchenkov were very moved. Junior - a boy who has lots to say - was basically speechless, but clearly enjoying the visit. Legault & Volchenkov were apologetic that they didn't really have much "to give" Junior. They had already given much more than expected . There was nothing really for Anton to sign, so we got him to sign his Sick Kids gown. We told Anton how Junior basically has all his cards... that resulted in Anton pulling a 2002-03 Bowman Young Stars stick card of himself out of his wallet & autographing it for Jr. We got lots of pictures, some great memories & it allowed Junior to relate something really cool to the heart surgery. I never thought of this, but it seemed to shock Anton that he could have such an effect on such a young person. In a way, I think his meeting with Junior was saddening for him, as he was meeting one of his biggest fans who was going into life threatening surgery within the hour. Before they left, they asked us to keep them updated & assured us they would be sending Junior some goodies! After they left, my wife wondered how we would contact them & how they could get goodies to Junior. I was still grinning ear to ear, watching my boy proudly holding his signed card, wearing his signed gown. Well, Junior went into surgery less than 30 minutes after the visit. I am happy to say that after a 5 hour surgery, everything went absolutely smoothly! The third surgery was much smoother than the first two. You can't imagine the relief you feel. Same surgeon all three times - a wonderfully skilled man!

FRIDAY DEC. 3 - DAY AFTER I wake up at 6:00 AM, and go spend some time with my son in the Critical Care unit. I return back to my room at 9:00 AM to discover that the Senators Director of Media Relations Phil Legault has called to ask on behalf of Anton (who doesn't speak English very well) on how Junior was doing! Wow... way beyond the call of duty. Phil also wanted to apologize ... it seems that teammates asked Anton why he was late & he told them about visiting Junior. He didn't realize that there are lots of Ottawa Sports writers looking for something to write about. Phil Legault was apologizing, as he was concerned that we might think that Anton's visit was a publicity stunt. I intend to tell him that I know it wasn't a publicity stunt & that I intend to publicly thank them in the papers. Phil said they tried to convince the papers not to mention the visit, but apparently one paper intends to. Another cool piece of memorabilia from Anton's visit!

I am feeling on top of the world, then Ronald McDonald House calls to say that they have a room available for us.
The house is SIMPLY AMAZING. Their generousity & the facilities are astounding. After unpacking again, the house manager again offers me a tickets to tonight's Leafs-Sens game - this time "Executive Suite" tickets! You know I couldn't let those hockey tickets to go to waste. Junior was asleep in the hospital, Mom & Grandpa wanted to sleep... So I put on my Hull Olympiques jersey & headed to the game by myself. I had to represent, but still be diplomatic . At the rink, I had a nice hostess take care of me & only me Again... despite the Sens loss, I had a great time. Kudos to the Leafs & their staff.

Thanks for the read - I had to share.

My post got a lot a nice responses, here are a select few:

* 'I'm glad your son made it through everything, and I'm extremely impressed with Volchenkov's (and the sen's as a whole) support to a young fan. I always liked the game Anton plays, but by the looks of it he plays an even better game off the ice.'

* '1) Glad to hear your son's doing well and got to meet his fave player.2) See, guys like Volchenkov give the rest a better name than they deserve. That's a guy who knows he's a role model and ACTS LIKE ONE. That's simply outstanding.

* 'Jeff, thank you so much for sharing the story with the group here. I'm also glad to hear your son is doing better after the surgery. Being a father also I couldn't imagine having to deal with my children going through that and the pain it must cause you and your family.

* 'My prayers are with your family and to a quick recovery for your son...'

* 'Jeff - Great to hear that everything is going well for your family ... incredible story .. such a shame that all the players are taking such a hit on their "nice guy" reputation because a bunch of "suits" won't let a deal happen to get them back on the ice...thanks for the read - the world needs more "good news".'

* 'I heard about this story in the Citizen. Great story, and what a nice gesture.'

* 'That is so great to hear Jeff!! I must say your first post brought a tear to my eye when I read it through. I can't imagine what your family is going through and I wish you all the best.'

* 'A great story. A lot of teams are very good at doing things like this in their community, but when a person finds the time to take a few minutes out of his day to make an unplanned visit to a hospital not in his "home" city, it's very nice to hear. All the best to your son.'

* 'Wow Jeff - I wouldn't have been able to type all of that out - way too emotional! Best of luck to your son and family and it's nice to hear that such a small act of kindness can mean so much to someone.'