Zebras Care in L.A.

Brad Watson arrived at the hotel at 11:30 AM that day, traveling in from his previous assignment. Kelly Sutherland also arrived that morning from a game the night before. Steve Barton was 9 days into a 9 day road trip, and I had 5 games in approximately 7 nights.

As we jumped into our rental car and headed out for lunch, the long days of January and a long season was upon us all. We talked and joked about the upcoming Olympic break all except one of us would be enjoying. We chatted about how one of the toughest parts of this job is the travel schedule and how if you don't take care of yourself, it sure can wear you down. We finished our lunch, jumped back into our vehicle, left Marina Del Ray that beautiful sunny day and headed back to the hotel for a nap. We needed a rest to get ready for our game that evening at 7:30 PM.

Jersey Moore, Age 14

Jersey, is a big strapping young man who arrived at our room that Saturday evening about one hour before the NHL game between the St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings was to start. He was accompanied by his Mother and another young lady. We were introduced to Jersey by Danielle Prado who works for the Los Angeles Kings as their Coordinator of Community Relations.

The NHL and the NHLOA participate in different programs throughout the year and this meeting was arranged through our Zebra's Care Program. It's a program run in conjunction with many NHL teams, that allow for an individual who is ill to enjoy an evening of fun and hopefully stress free relaxation, a far change from the every day trials they must endure. From the moment our friend Jersey walked into our room, he took it over, his quiet, strong personality was very impressive to us. As we all talked and visited with one another, we found out that like most teenagers, in his spare time Jersey enjoys watching TV, likes to play numerous video games and told us that his passion was playing football and basketball, sports he really enjoyed. Like most people, a great number of our Association members like to give back their time to their local communities through various volunteer opportunities, I am no different, I enjoy the opportunity to coach and instruct many young men and women in the Puget Sound Region of Seattle, through our Seattle Junior Hockey Association, I meet young kids all the time, that are an absolute pleasure to be around and converse with, none more than 14 year old Jersey Moore.

I have yet to mention the reason we were fortunate enough to meet this special young man, you see Jersey suffers from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL. ALL is a form of cancer that develops in the bone marrow and accounts for approximately 75 to 80 percent of all childhood Leukemia [according to the Children's Hospital of Boston]. Causes remain relatively unknown, while the main treatment for this disease is intense chemotherapy.

As we wished Jersey and his family a fun and exciting evening, we shook his hand said our good byes and posed for a couple of pictures, we all took a moment to reflect on our and our families own fortunes. By fortunes, I don't mean of wealth, but of health, and suddenly the long road days of January soon looked liked beautiful sunny summer days to the four of us left standing quietly reflecting in our dressing room.

Thanks Jersey. Thanks for your time, your effort in coming down to meet us, and for reminding four grown men's perspective on what real issues are

Your Friends at the NHLOA

Vaughan Rody