My Fawlty Wiring: After an M.S. Diagnosis, an Emotional Return to the N.H.L. Ice

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

After an M.S. Diagnosis, an Emotional Return to the N.H.L. Ice

After an M.S. Diagnosis, an Emotional Return to the N.H.L. Ice

By PAT BORZI APRIL 5, 2017

The Hurricanes’ Bryan Bickell, left, pursued the Wild’s Matt Dumba on Tuesday night in St. Paul. Credit Jim Mone/Associated Press

ST. PAUL — Fourth-line forwards like Bryan Bickell rarely draw much attention unless they mess up, especially on a night with so much pomp.

In a pregame ceremony on Tuesday, the Minnesota Wild honored the veteran Eric Staal before he participated in his 1,000th N.H.L. game. Then Staal started against the Carolina Hurricanes, his former team, whose lineup included his brother Jordan. So Bickell’s first shift for visiting Carolina went largely unnoticed.

But when Bickell, a journeyman left wing, hopped over the boards nearly two minutes into the game — his first N.H.L. appearance since Oct. 30 — he achieved an even rarer milestone. Bickell became the third player with multiple sclerosis to play in the league, and the first who was not a goaltender.

Bickell failed to score in Carolina’s 5-3 loss. His line, featuring center Andrew Poturalski in his N.H.L. debut, was on the ice for two goals in a freewheeling first period in which each team scored three times. But after two months of skating and a 10-game conditioning stint with Charlotte in the American Hockey League, Bickell, 31, felt as much relief as excitement to resume his N.H.L. career with four games left in the regular season.

“Emotionally, it was good to get back out there,” Bickell said, standing in a hallway outside the Hurricanes’ dressing room. “Obviously that first period wasn’t what we wanted as a line, but I think as the game went on it got better.”

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His teammates were thrilled to have him back. “It shows perseverance, mental toughness, everything,” said center Jeff Skinner, who leads Carolina with 35 goals. “It’s inspiring. For me, it’s cool to be a part of that and witness it firsthand.”

What happens from here is largely uncharted territory for Bickell, who was a part of three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to Carolina last summer. Blackhawks fans best remember him for his nine goals and eight assists in the 2013 playoffs, when Chicago won its second Cup in four years.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system, usually striking in early adulthood, with no known cure. Some people exhibit no symptoms at all. For others, it can be debilitating. Dr. Bruce A. Cohen, a professor of neurology at Northwestern University, said many patients with M.S. can function normally when the disease is diagnosed early and they are placed on proper medication.

“He combats the general picture that people may have when they think of this disease, that it always results in severe loss of function and inability to do things in life that people want to do,” Cohen, who has not treated Bickell, said in a telephone interview. “We’ve come a long way in the last two decades in terms of what we’re able to do for people when we’re able to treat them early and effectively.”

Bickell learned he had the disease in November, shortly after losing function in his right arm and leg during a morning skate. Before that, Bickell had been hampered for more than a year by an assortment of physical ailments, dating to the 2015 Stanley Cup finals with Chicago. His play suffered so much he languished in the minors for much of the 2015-16 season.

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Though Bickell finally had an answer, the issue became how to proceed. Cohen said there are 15 medications approved to treat M.S., and it often takes time to determine which one works best.

“That first month wasn’t ideal,” said Bickell, who is married with two young daughters. “It wasn’t looking good in getting better.”

Eventually his symptoms responded to Tysabri, a drug administered intravenously once every four weeks. Cohen, who has prescribed Tysabri for about 10 years, said it was particularly well suited for someone like Bickell, who travels frequently. Bickell resumed workouts with the Hurricanes in January, gradually building up his strength and stamina.

Cohen encourages his patients to be active, while guarding against overheating and excessive fatigue, which can trigger symptoms. That proved troublesome for goaltenders Jordan Sigalet and Josh Harding, the only previous players known to play in the N.H.L. with M.S.

Sigalet spent three seasons in the minors, made one 43-second appearance for the Boston Bruins in January 2006, then played briefly in Europe before retiring in 2009. He coaches goaltenders for the Calgary Flames. Harding, who received his diagnosis in September 2012, remained effective for parts of two seasons with the Wild and won the 2013 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to hockey. He retired after collapsing during a minor league game in Charlotte in 2014.

Bickell said Harding, who lives in suburban Minneapolis and serves as a high school assistant coach, has been a valuable sounding board. Harding’s main advice: Try to stay cool and hydrated. Harding always kept two water bottles atop his net.

Bickell and Harding texted and spoke by phone but did not meet until Tuesday night, when Harding, in a ball cap with his sleeping 4-year-old daughter in his arms, waited for Bickell in the hallway outside the dressing room.

“To get words of wisdom from a guy that’s been through it definitely helped,” Bickell said of Harding.

“A lot of people reached out through these months to let me know this day was going to come. With the circumstances and the rough road me and family went through to get this opportunity with some games left, I’m definitely blessed.”

As a skater, Bickell can sit and rest during games, a luxury not afforded to Sigalet and Harding. Still, Cohen said Hurricanes Coach Bill Peters might need to limit the length and frequency of Bickell’s shifts. He played 12 minutes 35 seconds on Tuesday, less than most Carolina forwards, while averaging 44 seconds per shift.

Hurricanes forward Lee Stempniak said Bickell looked better on Tuesday night than he expected.

“I don’t say this lightly, but it’s an inspiration to see how much he cares and how hard he worked,” he said. “Hockey is such an important part of our lives. I don’t want to say you take it for granted, but you always think it’s going to be there. To have it taken away like that is certainly difficult. That’s a bit of a reality check for all of us.”

A version of this article appears in print on April 6, 2017, on Page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: Player With Multiple Sclerosis Makes Emotional Return to the N.H.L.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/sports/hockey/bryan-bickell-ms-carolina-hurricanes.html?_r=1