Hockey Fights Cancer has an impact on everyone

Last night, 9-year-old Gabe was like a kid in a candy store, if the candy store was an 18,000-seat sports arena.

As the Blue Jackets celebrated the annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by OhioHealth, Gabe was in his element. He stared with wonder from along the glass as the Blue Jackets players took warmups, was given a puck by Adam Fantilli, danced along to the booming music and then made himself at home exploring the ambulance on hand in the bowels of Nationwide Arena.

And that was even before the game started.

One of the Blue Jackets Foundation’s five pediatric cancer heroes for the year, Gabe spent Thursday night acting like a kid, which is a blessing when those days are sometimes few and far between.

Gabe loves science, tacos and the TV show The Owl House, but you might soon be able to add hockey to the list. Thursday night’s contest vs. the Lightning was his first-ever time attending a game at Nationwide Arena, and suddenly Gabe has visions of being on skates like the athletes he saw on the ice.

“This is the first one,” his mother, Melissa, said. “He wants to play (hockey) now. I said, ‘Well, you better learn how to skate.’”

The introduction of the cancer heroes is one of the most impactful moments of Hockey Fights Cancer, and the five CBJ heroes had the full VIP experience from taking the ice with the players before the game to being part of a pregame high-five tunnel to watching the 7-6 win from a suite.

Throughout the year, they’ll take part in photo shoots with the players, attend special CBJ events and otherwise be able to get their minds off of what they’re facing by just being a kid.

“Everybody has made us feel right at home and special,” Melissa said. “I get a little choked up because of the reason why we’re here. You can’t tell (by looking at him). He is really loving it. We appreciate it. He feels really special.”

Throughout the night, there were plenty of other ways the Blue Jackets honored those who have gone or are currently going through the cancer fight.

Pediatric cancer survivors Molly Oldham, Lila Urbanic and Aria Tarantine combined to sing a beautiful version of The Star-Spangled Banner before the game, while four OhioHealth patients who recently completed treatment were able to ring the bell signifying the end of their treatment on the bench during the second intermission.

The recognitions extended to the night’s military salute, presented by Elk+Elk. U.S. Army Private Jason Palmer spent six seasons in the military – including more than a year and a half on active duty – before being honorably discharged.

In June 2012, he was eagerly awaiting the birth of his daughter, Lilyanna, when he went to the hospital for appendicitis. But as doctors looked at the CT scan, they found something even more worrying – a growth on his kidney that turned out to be cancer.

“At the beginning of June, I had my appendix out,” Palmer said. “At the end of June, I had my kidney out. At the beginning of July, my daughter Lilyanna was born. It was incredibly tough and rewarding at the same time. Blessed, is what I’d say. The doctors told my wife that had they not found it when they did – because kidney cancer is the silent killer – I might not have had another year to live.”

The good news is that Palmer is now fully healthy, though he said cancer seems to run in his family. He had a large group of friends in family in attendance last night at Nationwide Arena because they all know the impact the disease can have.

While Palmer is no longer in the Army, he still continues to help his community, serving as a radiology technologist as OhioHealth.

“Serving is what I do, what our family does,” he said. “We come from a military family that has highly served, and my wife is a nurse, so she’s serving. It’s just something that we’ve always done.”