During Chase’s chemo stay this week, the Stanley Cup visited the hospital!
Two years ago, Coach Quenneville brought the Cup to the old hospital and vowed that he would bring it back again, and on Tuesday, he did just that.
It was an honor to be part of such a special promise-keeping as the coach and other significant members of the Blackhawks’ organization poured 219 small pieces of paper, for the 219 children staying in the hospital that day, into the Cup to make the kids part of the win.
We were allowed to have a picture with the Cup, but after a long night of chemo, Chase lay exhausted in his stroller. Undaunted by the surgery scar, the white skin or the IVs protruding from his tiny body, Coach Q hoisted the cup and brought it down to Chase, all the while, talking kindly and softly to him and encouraging him that it was okay to touch the trophy. Chase doesn’t always respond well to strangers and especially not in a crowd (and this crowd had a lot of flashing cameras too), but he responded to the Coach and touched the Cup…and then, even though he didn’t take his thumb out of his mouth, he gave a big smile.
[We later learned that Chase thought he had been going to view the “Piston Cup” from the Cars movie…which also explains some of his initial hesitation.]
As we thanked the Coach and moved to make room for the next family, he stopped us and asked how Chase was doing in his fight against cancer. He absolutely didn’t have to do that, and yet, he took the time. In that moment, we caught a glimpse of the humble leader. No wonder these guys brought the Cup home again.
Thank you, Chicago Blackhawks!
–MbM–
[for more pictures of Chase and the Stanley Cup’s visit to the hospital, please visit Chase Away Cancer, Chicago Blackhawks, or Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago on Facebook]
