Not even the best Hollywood writers in the world could have come up with a better story than the one that played out last Wednesday when six-year-old Sudbury native and cancer survivor Jordan Primeau, watched his beloved Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Washington Capitals. His favourite NHL hockey team ended up winning the game 3-2 after his idol, Leaf's captain Mats Sundin, scored the game winner with just under 30 seconds left in the game.
“It was almost like he did it for Jordan,” said his mother, Shannon. “It was pretty fantastic and he was pretty pumped cheering 'Go leafs Go' from the start of the game to the finish.”
It was a dream come true for Primeau, who was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 18 months and subsequently, had to undergo two-and-a-half years of treatment only to have the cancer relapse in January 2006 after just eight months. The leukemia spread to his central nervous system, damaging his optic nerves and causing him to lose 85 percent of his vision. He's in remission now, but will remain on oral-chemotherapy for just under a year.
All of those problems were instantly forgotten, though, when when the crew from The Sports Network (TSN) surprised him in his class at St. James School last Tuesday. The family was in touch with the Children's Wish Foundation just before Christmas to find out if they could fulfill Jordan's wish.
“He's just been through so much and to see him smile all day long, what more can a mom ask for,?” said the mom. “He just deserves to have a day about him;a day to be happy. I can't cure him, I can't fix him, so to help him get this dream, it's hard not to cry.”
The dream became a reality Monday when a limo came to pick his family up at 10 am to escort them to the Air Canada Centre (ACC) in Toronto. There, they were greeted by representatives from the ACC, as well as the Children's Wish Foundation and TSN, who took them on a tour of the arena. From there, Jordan, and his five-year-old brother Zackery, were introduced to Sundin, who gave them both an autographed jersey with their names and birthdays on the back.
“Jordan gave him a hug because he was pretty excited because that's his idol,” said Primeau. “He got overwhelmed as he was a little shy at first, but Mats was very, very kind and gave him an autographed picture of himself and they talked. There were hugs and high-fives for both the boys.”
Later, Leafs' forward Matt Stajan took him out for a skate on the ice as the rest of the team practiced. Then, he sat down for a one-on-one meeting with forward Jason Blake, who has also battled leukemia.
“Jordon was pretty taken back by him and found him pretty inspirational that he can still play hockey and have cancer,” said Primeau. “They passed the puck to each other a little bit, so it was nice.”
He ended up meeting with and getting signed autographs from just about the whole team, as well as a few pictures, but the excitement didn't end there. Capitals' forward Alexander Ovechkin also gave him an autographed game stick, so when all was set and done, the youngster had autographed sticks from Ovechkin and Leafs' forwards Alex Steen, Blake, and Alexei Ponikarovsky.
“He's overwhelmed and he's still processing it all,” said Primeau. “But for the first three nights, he slept with his hockey sticks, so that's how much it meant to him.”
To top it all off, Steen took him on a tour of the dressing room before he watched the game.
Ultimately, Primeau believes her son's ability to face off with such seemingly insurmountable odds symbolizes what life's all about and it's something that he and his whole family will remember forever.
“If we ever, for one second, take things for granted, we look at Jordan and how can you take things for granted after that,?” said Primeau. “Look at this kid. He fulfilled his life-long dream.”
