Hockey is sacred to National League players, but sometimes there are more important things. David Perron had to take a break to go to the bedside of his granddaughter and his wife and he recounted his dark moments of recent months.
The Quebec forward left the Ottawa Senators entourage on October 21, but he is back in the team’s fold, now that the situation has stabilized. A congenital malformation of the pulmonary airways was discovered in very young Elizabeth Perron, born in October.
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In a press scrum on Friday, the 36-year-old man explained that a mass had been discovered on the baby’s right lung, several weeks before his birth. Quickly, he and his partner Vanessa understood that an operation was coming in order to avoid complications.
“There were a few scary moments where we thought they were going to have to remove the entire lung. That’s when you wonder what his life will be like. In August, when we found out, we rushed to Toronto. The mass was pushing so hard on the left side of the chest that it could lead to cardiac arrest,” Perron told reporters.
A black cloud
Elizabeth was born at the end of October and her health has continued to improve since then. It was with immense relief that the Sherbrookois spoke on Friday, although everything is not yet resolved.
“It was a black cloud over my head,” he admitted. You try to live normally, there are several people to whom this happens. It looks like it’s under control, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet.”
Perron did not obtain a point and maintained a differential of -4 in his first five duels with the Senators. He admits that he was not in his right mood, having had to spend the majority of the training camp in the hotel, in addition to multiple stays in the hospital.
“The guys are playing really good hockey. I want to get back into the locker room and get back on the ice to play. I know I can make a difference, especially as this situation is being resolved little by little. I feel that the cloud that has been there since August has dissipated,” he announced happily.
The entire organization supported Perron in this ordeal, said the forward who signed a two-year contract with the Senators this summer. Former general managers and teammates have also reached out to him in recent weeks.
