This might be the saddest thing I've read in a long time.On Saturday night, three year old Sens fan Elgin-Alexander Fraser passed away just hours after watching his beloved Senators reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Read the Ottawa Citizen story here.Fraser suffered from neuroblastoma, which is a rare form of childhood cancer.
Mike Fisher of the Senators paid regular visits to the Fraser home. Elgin had many meetings with the other players, but he had a special relationship with Fisher. The two are pictured here at a Sens practice in April. The team invited Elgin to the closed practice, where he got to meet, hang out with and get photos with his heroes.
Now, he is their hero.
Neuroblastoma effects the nervous system, and young Elgin was diagnosed when he was just nine months old. He underwent aggressive treatment, putting the cancer into remission. However, the cancer came back in January. Unfortunately, they were unable to beat it this time.
Last spring, the Hurricanes embraced little six-year old Julia Rowe in a story kind of like this one. Rowe is the next door neighbor to coach Peter Laviolette, and suffers from leukemia. She beat it once, but it came back. Coach Laviolette spearheaded a campaign to raise over $60,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the team used young Julia as a rallying point. After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, the team (in conjunction with Julia's parents) presented Rod Brind'Amour with a special "Relentless" award for being the MVP. There was a bottle of wine associated with that, which had been autographed by young Julia. It had been traveling with the team the whole time. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, and the rest of the Sabres mistook it for champaign early in the series, and accused the Canes of hubris.
Again, she beat back the Leukemia, but the latest news is that it has appeared for a third time.
After learning of Elgin's death, Mike Fisher said
The impact he had on me was incredible. With the things he went through and how well he handled them. I was blessed to spend some time with him
I expect the Sens to rally around this story and use Elgin's memory as an inspiration. His funeral will be on Thursday.
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2 comments:
Bad things happening to little kids always hits hard, especially since Elgin is the same age as my daughter. Ick.
The Sense are playing dynamite hockey now. I think they have a great shot.
I'm from Ottawa. Thanks for posting this story and letting the folks in the Carolinas know about brave little Elgin.
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