Capitals, Cancer, Chris

I have been putting off writing this until the Caps officially took home the cup, but now that the juju ceremony is complete, it’s finally time.

On October 11th, 2017, Chris and I attended our very first Caps game vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, which we sadly lost. The tickets were a surprise gift for his birthday at the end of the month, which I bought almost on a whim at the behest of Sarah, the biggest Caps fan I know. The real gift, I thought, was the DC United tickets for the team’s last game at the old RFK Stadium. The Caps game was just an added bonus.

I wore an Oshie jersey from the end of the previous season, while Chris borrowed a Carlson sweatshirt from Sarah. Even though we lost, it was a great game, and the atmosphere was electrifying. It felt like a concert, and we knew we’d be back.

However, just a few days before his 24th birthday, Chris was diagnosed with testicular cancer. We celebrated his birthday with heavy hearts, and showered him in Caps gear since he was immediately hooked from the first game. He got surgery to remove the malignant tumor just one day before his birthday, but the cancer had already spread.

On November 6th, we went to our second game against the Coyotes, a game which should have been an easy win but ended up being an exciting competition full of fights (yay!). Chris still wore Sarah’s Carlson sweatshirt, with a brand new Caps beanie from his birthday. Our first win!

We were back in the arena a week later on November 12th against the Oilers. We won again!

And again on November 18th against the Wild, another win. This time we went with our friend Austin, who lent Chris a Holtby jersey. If you can’t tell what’s going on, we were cramming as many games in as we could before Chris was to start chemotherapy at the end of the month. Chris also got a new beanie from yours truly, perfect for his future baldness.

During the three months of chemo, our new favorite thing was trying to get our tweets on TV during the game. It was especially rewarding and distracting for the times Chris had to be rushed to the ER for low white blood cell counts, where he would often stay for several days. For one of his stays, he got a whole spread of tweets during Caps Overtime. Fame!

The Caps became a source of joy and a welcome distraction during those months. Chris became a super-fan in no time, and was the go-to for latest Caps news, since he spent so much downtime reading and watching videos about their history. He got a third beanie, this time a Hockey Fights Cancer hat. We absolutely loved seeing the woman with the purple cancer jersey in the crowd at every game, as well as reading about Oshie’s relationship with Addy, one of the coolest people around.

Watching Caps games together was the perfect excuse to spend time together and focus on something other than the side effects of chemo. Win or lose, it took both of our minds off cancer for several hours a few times a week. Whether it was at his house or mine, or on a tiny screen in the hospital after yet another dangerous fever, we watched the Caps all season long.

For Christmas, Chris got a Backstrom jersey (from yours truly), officially making him an authentic fan, and ready for the next game he was allowed to go to with the OK of his oncologist. One evening, we made the error of watching the Caps game at my home in Woodbridge, far away from his hospital in Reston. Halfway through the game, Chris got a fever, and had to be rushed 45 minutes to the hospital. I’ve never driven faster in my life, while Sarah tailed me in her car with Austin (I believe Austin grayed prematurely that night). We finished the game in the ER, and ultimately won.

We didn’t get to another game until two months later on February 24th against the Sabres, whom we defeated soundly. Chris’ spirits were high since the end of chemo was in sight.

Finally, on March 1st, Chris finished his last round of chemo. It was one of the happiest days of my life. His hair started growing back!

As a surprise, I got us tickets for the Round 1 Game 1 against the Blue Jackets, in the 100-level for the very first time. What a splurge. So worth it, except that we lost, but that’s water under the bridge. It was an amazing game that we only lost in OT. Besides, we got light-up foam sticks from it, even though my battery quickly died.

The craziest thing I’ve done in recent years is take a spontaneous trip up to Pittsburgh with Chris and Sarah to watch Round 2 Game 6. Sarah was the mastermind behind it. She messaged me the day before when I was enjoying a pleasant brunch. I told her she was absolutely crazy and that it’d be a huge expense and what if we didn’t win and I’d have to take PTO and get it approved and and… She gave me a full proposal with costs and times and everything. We made it happen.

We left at noon on May 7th. My stomach was in knots all day. We didn’t want to get beaten up (lol). While we weren’t physically harmed, the verbal abuse was intense (lol). Luckily, we had Sarah to defend us. As the hockey world knows, we won that beautiful, beautiful game in OT. I am absolutely certain Chris was and is our good luck charm. There’s no other explanation.

He called the Vrana goal for the game last night, finally confirming that he was behind every win for every game we watched.

So yeah, Hockey Fights Cancer. The Capitals saved Chris this season. Or did Chris save the Capitals?