Mario Lemieux inspires teen's post-cancer return to hockey
Pittsburgh Penguins legend Mario Lemieux is well aware of the battle ahead when one is diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
After all, the Hall of Famer received the news that he had been diagnosed during the 1992-93 season and he returned to the NHL two months later. With that in mind, Lemieux was quick to relay the positives in a phone call to 17-year-old Eddie Klein, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma on Oct. 6.
Klein, who is the captain of the St. Joseph regional hockey team in Montvale, N.J., was on the verge of his last round of chemotherapy at Hackensack University Medical Center when Lemieux called his phone on Dec. 21. Via FOX5:
"He was just basically giving me tips on how to deal with it. He was assuring me I would be fine, and to look at him that he was able to play many more years."
Klein had the port in his chest removed on Jan. 6 and was cleared to resume physical activity.
SJR hockey capt. Eddie Klein has overcome cancer, with a lil' inspiration from Mario Lemieux https://t.co/ft6bi9LNoo pic.twitter.com/2gxJoc4Wxt
— Varsity Aces (@VarsityAces) January 12, 2016
The defenseman promptly took to the ice the next day despite having stitches in his chest and competed against Paramus Catholic, according to the Bergen Record.
Now cancer-free, the only goals concerning Klein are on the ice.
