Tuesday, February 2, 2010

I loved this story.

Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in the 1992-93 season and underwent six weeks of chemotherapy. He eventually returned to the lineup.

On Thursday morning, Lemieux's fight with the disease came to the forefront again when he invited fellow Hodgkin's survivor Michael Saikali, 11, of Ottawa to skate with him at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.

"Anytime that Make-A-Wish calls it is always welcome by the whole organization and myself," Lemieux said to the Penguins website. "That is the least we can do to make him feel better."

Saikali is a true-blue Penguins fan whose wish was to skate with the Penguins owner. The Eastern Ontario chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted the Penguins, and Michael was able to realize his dream as he and his family all travelled to Pittsburgh.

"To make a young kid's dream come true is just unbelievable," Habib Saikali, Michael's father, said. "This is more than what we expected. Words can't express or explain the emotions I am going through. This is unbelievable."

Lemieux and Michael passed the puck around and took part in a few drills. "It was so exciting because I always wanted to skate with him," Michael said.
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