When I moved to Port Angeles, Washington in 1991 I carried the memories of witnessing game two of the Stanley Cup Finals. This was the game that Mario Lemieux made the iconic goal against the Minnesota North Stars that changed the series and lifted Mario into legendary status with his performance. What we saw as impossible to achieve…he brought to reality via pure will and creativity.
In 1993 he was living his life as the hero and savior of Penguins Hockey after leading his team to back-to-back Stanley Cups Titles. He was having another strong year, crushing the scoring competition with his incredible play.
Then…he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease…Cancer. Although it is a less problematic type of cancer…with a five-year survival rate today of 81 percent…it is still cancer. With treatments that included radiation.
On March 2nd, 1993, Mario finished radiation and booked a charter flight in order to play that night in Philadelphia. He scored a goal and assisted on another. Amazing…
In November of 2003 I had a seizure to alert me to the fact that I had something inside my head that didn’t belong there, a brain tumor. With my confidence in the medical facilities in Pittsburgh and the support of my family, I chose to have surgery there.
After hearing ‘it’s worse than we thought’ in regard to the level of concern the tumor presented, I opted for an advised second surgery. Everything went well and I am thankful for the level of care that I received.
I received my radiation treatments when I returned home to Washington. As my treatments were wrapping up, I remembered Mario’s story and thought about the possibility of using it for motivation.
It was in that tradition that I chose to do… what I wish I did as well as Mario played hockey…ski. We typically have snow in June, and I thought ‘why not?’. With this inspiration I skied the afternoon of my last day of radiation with several friends…and had a blast. On June 3rd I was able to ski on the 13th anniversary…a yearly tradition. (conditions permitting)
At the bottom of the run…Klahanie Ridge. It was like skiing inside a ping-pong ball…but hey…it was skiing.
Mario went on to do all he could to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh as part owner and now they have the most successful team in the league. (Five Cups!) He also created the Mario Lemieux Foundation. He is now 22 years cancer free and devotes much of his time at the Foundation raising funds for to help reach the ultimate goal: a cure for cancer.
His approach to hand that he was dealt again motivated me. I have been a lifetime fan of using the natural world as my playground and sanctuary. I had years of experience in outdoor recreation and leading others to expand their appreciation of our natural world.
With this history I created Survivor’s Outdoor Experience. Our programming is directed towards the ultimate goal of giving participants strength, hope and a sense of the future.
It is a personal journey to fight this disease known as cancer and we all have our path. Mario used winning the scoring title as his motivation (he did win it) and I used it to get back to normal as mine. With the inspiration of his story.
Thanks & Congrats, Mario.
This year I added a bonus day and went to Mt. Angeles on 6/4/17
Mount Angeles
