Eaves eager to get back on ice
Patrick Eaves was on the ice at training camp with the Anaheim Ducks last September when he felt something strange — his legs were inexplicably losing strength.
Not long after, the weakness had spread to the veteran winger’s back. Eaves managed to battle through and suit up for two regular-season games, he even scored in one, but whatever was wrong eventually started to affect his breathing.
“It all evolved very quickly,” he recalled in a phone interview Tuesday. “Before I knew it, I was in the intensive care unit. It was pretty scary.
“I went from the best shape of my life to an ICU in about a month.”
Eaves was initially diagnosed in October with what was suspected to be Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare disorder where the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system, sometimes resulting in death.
“My body started to neurologically shut down,” said the 34year-old, who has 132 goals and 110 assists in 626 games with six NHL teams. “My three kids and wife had an upper respiratory virus. We had just moved out to California. I was taking care of the four of them, and then a couple days before camp I started to get it in my chest.
“Probably about a week later I started to feel the power in my legs go out.”
Eaves spent time in hospital recovering as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong, eventually learning some two months later that he in fact didn’t have Guillain-Barré, but had instead been struck down by a “post-viral syndrome.”
Ashoulder injury suffered during an initial rehabilitation attempt caused further problems.
Eaves did return to the ice in late February, but determined his ailing shoulder couldn’t endure the rigours of a Ducks’ playoff push. He opted for surgery in early March and hopes to be ready when camp opens in just over six weeks.
“It was a long year trying to figure things out,” said Eaves, the 29th overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Ottawa Senators. “I feel great right now.”