Despite Plight, Schwartz Inspires
The following article appeared January 30 on the NHL FanHouse Web site.
BY LISA OLSON
National Columnist
SEATTLE -- They think of the homemade cookies, the plate of
yummy goodness she brought to their locker room not so long ago.
Mandi Schwartz was all bundled up then, wearing triple thick layers
and a mighty scarf but still shivering quite a bit. Her immune
system, weakened by a recent bone marrow transplant and countless
rounds of chemotherapy, probably shouldn't have been subjected to a
cold and drafty ice rink, but that is Mandi.
She is a hockey player, and true hockey players, the ones weaned
on wake-up calls before sunrise and long drives to games and
aching, bruised shins, well, those sort of hockey players just
can't stay away.
"That day was pretty amazing. We were like, 'Oh, these are amazing
cookies,' and she was like, 'Oh, I'll give you the recipe,'" says
Maddie Davis, a 13-year-old forward for Western Washington Female
Hockey Association Phoenix, an all-girls team that plays
predominantly against boys-only teams. "It was so awesome that she
came to our bench and helped coach. When we found out her leukemia
had returned, we were all bumming."
Complete article can be accessed via the NHL FanHouse Web site by clicking here.
