Nhl, fan saves the life of the Vancouver Canucks assistant: “That mole could be a tumor”

A handful of words written on the notes of her mobile phone, the intelligence and perseverance of a young woman who is studying to become a doctor. Thus the life of Brian “Red” Hamilton, one of the assistants of the Vancouver Canucks, a franchise of NHL, the North American ice hockey league, has changed forever, saved by a fan.

In the right place

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Her name is Nadia Popovici, she is 22, she lives in Seattle, but she is originally from Canada. On October 23, for Seattle’s first home match, Kraken sits behind the guest bench, the Vancouver team who cheered as a child. That evening he notices that there is a suspicious mole on Hamilton’s neck. She still does not know that she will become the first heroine of the new year. To alarm her, he explained, the “irregular contours” and a “rather large diameter”. After graduating from the University of Washington, while waiting to enter a medical school, he said he volunteered in hospitals, including in an oncology ward. So, sure not to make a mistake, she tried to attract the attention of the Canucks assistant, who was busy fixing his players’ helmets before entering the field.

The message on the iPhone

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Granted that “Red” (so called because of his red hair) first ignored her and then tried to dissuade her from staying there, a few centimeters from the bench, clapping her hands on the plexiglass barrier that separates the spectators. But the girl insists, manages to turn him around and shows him her cell phone. On the notes of his iPhone he wrote “The mole on your neck could be a tumor. Please, get checked by a doctor! “. It is certainly not what Hamilton expected to read. He nods, he makes her understand that he has received the message by raising his thumb, but what matters is that, back home, he seriously decides to be checked. Diagnosis is malignant melanoma, skin cancer. It is not yet at an advanced stage, it can be operated on. And save yourself. Who would have imagined a guardian angel wearing the colors of the opposing team?

The letter

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Thus we arrive at the morning of January 1st, at the end of the malignant melanoma of the prognosis. In the evening, another game is scheduled between the Vancouver Canucks and the Kraken, at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. In the morning, through the club’s social networks, Hamilton publishes a letter in which he tells what happened and explains that he is looking for a “special person”, Nadia. “That message you made me read on your phone – we read – will remain forever in my head, it changed my life and my family. You were right, your instincts were correct, that mole on my neck was a malignant melanoma and now thanks to your perseverance and the quick intervention of the doctors it is gone. You are a true heroine ”. The tweet passes on the screens of thousands of people, including Nadia’s mother, who remembers that episode very well, since she was present. Just in time to invite them to the competition.

So, before the start of the match Nadia Popovici and Brian Hamilton get to know each other. The initial handshake turns into a strong hug, until the audience cheers. And, for her, also a nice gift from both teams: a $ 10,000 scholarship to a medical school. Vancouver won, but by then the biggest success had already been celebrated.