A worthy goal: Brendan Gallagher and family fundraising for brain cancer research

A worthy goal: Brendan Gallagher and family fundraising for brain cancer research

A mini controversy has been brewing in Montreal concerning – what else? – hockey, more specifically the recent elimination of Les Canadiens.

A fan favourite, the 14-year veteran Brendan Gallagher, was a “healthy scratch” (which sounds like an oxymoron from the annals of medical itchery), for most of the team’s recent playoff games.

Many commentators felt that his being left out of the lineup was cruel and thoughtless, especially for the last game, as it seemed that he was being ignominiously shown the door.

Brendan Gallagher has faced a great deal of adversity in his career, no more so than in his personal life.

His mother was felled by glioblastoma, a virulent and incurable form of brain cancer whose cruelty knows no bounds. The same fate that was reserved for my dearly departed wife Anne.

Truth be told, my Anne was not a sports fan. Our son Daniel played competitive sports for many years, and it took Anne ages to realize that she was supposed to sit in a block of seats reserved by the team’s parents, shake a noisemaker, cheer lustily, and heap abuse upon the umpire or referee.

During kid hockey games, Anne would sit in any which place, often reclining in what she came to realize was “enemy territory” and reading a novel as the match unfolded. She always felt sorry for the team that was losing. The result she hoped for was a tie.

As a youngster growing up in Quebec City in the 1980s and 1990s, our hockey-playing son Daniel understandably didn’t appreciate this lack of hockey-parent enthusiasm. Already he had progenitors with bizarre accents, a family name nobody could pronounce, and a father who donned what he considered embarrassing garments, especially in winter. Besides which, we didn’t own a car.

To his everlasting chagrin, Daniel learned that one day a contingent of hockey parents had approached us after a game, vacillating oafishly and shamefacedly before us, to ask whether we both had a criminal record.

That was the only plausible explanation they could devise for our not partaking of the pleasures of the private automobile.

(Now 45 years of age, Dan is the proud owner of not one, but two, SUVs.)

Be that as it may, Anne, and by extension our family, has a fundamental link with Brendan Gallagher based on an affliction about which he and his family are dedicated to raising awareness and concerning which they, like us, are trying to raise funds for research.

Numerous kind people have asked how they can honour Anne’s memory. One way is to read about her combat with brain cancer, and if so inclined, contribute to the Brain Tumour Walk (BTW) fundraiser.

Here’s where to read about the Brain Tumour Walk and/or to contribute. Simply click here for my awareness-raising and fundraising page, created to pay tribute to Anne:

https://btfc.akaraisin.com/ui/BTW2026/p/RobertMcBryde

For more about Anne and hockey, please click here: