Incredible act of kindness from a fan may have saved equipment manager's life; fan identified
Today, the Vancouver Canucks' Twitter account posted an incredible story involving a fan and Brad «Red» Hamilton, assistant equipment manager for the team.
I'd like to preface this article by sharing a quick story from my own life. When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma, a cancerous tumor sitting behind my left eye. An optometrist noticed an irregularity during an eye exam and decided to refer me to a specialist. After that I underwent stereotactic radiation treatment for it and today I am cancer free. My optometrist saved my life by speaking up.
19 years later, a fan sitting behind the bench for the very first game between the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks on October 23rd, 2021 noticed a concerning mole on the back of Hamilton's neck. She managed to get his attention and tell him about it by typing a message on her phone. Mr. Hamilton took her advice to heart and had it checked out, only to discover that he had malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer that kills over 1200 Canadians each year. He has since had it removed and is thankfully cancer free.
The post from the Canucks Twitter account today is a thank you from Brad Hamilton to this woman, and a request for her to come forward to be thanked properly. With cancer, early detection is huge. It can mean the difference between life and death. Thankfully, Red had a true guardian Angel in the stands that night. We sincerely hope they are able to find her. This woman deserves all the praise in the world for what she did. Just like my Optometrist 19 years ago, her speaking up may very well have saved a persons life.
**Update, as of 2:19pm, the woman's mother has recognized the story and confirmed that her daughter will be at tonight's game between the Canucks and the Kraken in Seattle.**
