{"id":63203,"date":"2018-04-16T07:55:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T07:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=63203"},"modified":"2018-04-16T07:55:13","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T07:55:13","slug":"cup-winner-bryan-bickell-busy-lament-ms-ending-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/cup-winner-bryan-bickell-busy-lament-ms-ending-career.html","title":{"rendered":"Cup winner Bryan Bickell too busy to lament about MS ending his career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cup winner Bryan Bickell too busy to lament about MS ending his career<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Two-time Stanley Cup winner Bryan Bickell, 32, says he \u201ccan still hear the ting\u201d of his last NHL shot that struck the post and fell into the net for a shootout goal in April 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bickell confesses to missing the game badly. But he doesn\u2019t spend time lamenting that a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis shortchanged his career. He\u2019s far too busy for self-pity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, he\u2019s in Boston, working with the company Biogen, to share his MS story with MS-diagnosed athletes running in the Boston Marathon.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m there to motivate them, to tell my story, what I went through as a hockey player to achieve my goals, but also to have them tell me their stories to motivate me,\u201d Bickell said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bickell was diagnosed in November 2016, but he had known for more than a year that his body wasn\u2019t right. According to the Mayo Clinic, \u201cMS is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). The immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019ve come a long way from the first month I was diagnosed,\u201d Bickell said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I was going to be doing anything, or if I could get better, or whether my symptoms could go away. I didn\u2019t expect to be where I am today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

More: Five years after bombings, marathoner never takes Boston for granted<\/span><\/p>\n

More: Which 0-2 NHL teams have best shot at rallying in first round?<\/span><\/p>\n

He is living a relatively normal life, playing senior hockey twice a week with friends near his Newcastle, Ontario, home. There\u2019s also softball, and chasing around his daughters, ages 1 and 3.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe health is great, there have been ups and downs, but mostly ups,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bickell said leaving the NHL was tough mentally. \u201cBut physically, it\u2019s a lot better because I\u2019m not putting my body through the ringer,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are some things that pop up here and there, but we adjust.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the original symptoms was trouble with a shoulder. \u201cIt still comes up, but it goes away, and I live my life,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t allow his diagnosis to rule his life. He also has embraced multiple charitable causes and has a foundation to rescue abused pit bulls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, he is involved in the training of pit bulls to be service dogs for people with MS. The training is complex because MS patients have a wide variety of symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTraining is at our expense, and it can take eight months to a year to get them trained right,\u201d Bickell said. \u201cWe are doing it one dog at a time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bickell has worked to connect with other MS patients by publishing the tale of his journey at MyFightingStory.com<\/span><\/p>\n

His life is far busier today than it was when he was an NHL player. He finds it inspiring to meet other people with MS. He has looked forward to meeting the marathoners.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy running quite a bit,\u201d he said. \u201cIt lets me clear my head and burns off some calories I put on the weekend.”<\/span><\/p>\n

He laughs. \u201cBut a marathon? I was a hockey player,\u201d he said. \u201cI only do 30-second shifts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carolina’s Bryan Bickell scores a shootout goal against Philadelphia’s Anthony Stolarz in the season finale. (Photo: Joe Lamberti, (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post)<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear Bickell has made peace with his diagnosis. It undoubtedly helped that he achieved his goal of coming back to finish the 2016-17 season with the Carolina Hurricanes after his diagnosis. It was a storybook ending when he scored a shootout goal on his final shot against goalie Anthony Stolarz to help the Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3.<\/span><\/p>\n

His career was cut short, but Bickell had closure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, you want to play hockey, then play in the NHL, and then win a Stanley Cup,\u201d Bickell said. \u201cI was lucky to win a couple of Cups (with the Chicago Blackhawks). Then to score in front of friends and family on my last shot was special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nhl\/columnist\/allen\/2018\/04\/15\/cup-winner-bryan-bickell-multiple-sclerosis-ms-blackhawks-hurricanes\/519001002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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