IT ‘MEANS A LOT BECAUSE WE’RE GOING THROUGH A LOT’
SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Breton Eagles goalie Kevin Mandolese had a special reason for looking forward to wearing his new goalie pads.
“Ella,” in honour of his billet sister, is emblazoned on them.
The one-year-old recently received a bone-marrow transplant.
With the help of Bauer Hockey, Mandolese and the company were able to create a logo.
It reads "Ella" in white letters with a little pink bow on top of the "E" along with banner with the words “All for Ella."
The logo is placed on the side of the pads.
“I just wanted to do something to have her on my pads,” said Mandolese.
“It was a no-brainer for me and I’m just happy the family has allowed me to do this.”
Ella, the daughter of Ryan and Jennifer MacPherson of Sydney, was born on Nov. 2, 2018.
On April 2, she fell off a bed and broke her femur. During treatment for the injury, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic bone condition called osteopetrosis. Ella was sent to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax for a steady round of tests.
One of the complications of osteopetrosis is bone-marrow failure and, as a result, Ella received a transplant at the SickKids hospital in Toronto.
The MacPherson family spent months in the Ontario capital during the procedure and returned home with Ella in October.
Mandolese first approached the MacPherson family in August with the idea of having Ella’s name on his pads, something the family quickly agreed to.
“We were in an outpatient clinic in Toronto when Kevin sent us a text, basically telling us his plan and showing us the artwork,” said Ryan MacPherson.
“It’s a proud moment as a human to see that people will do something like this for you — what he was able to do was very nice and means a lot because we’re going through a lot.”