By Wilson Wong -
NBC News
A hockey fan was awarded $ 10,000 by two teams the National Hockey League after detecting, during a game, that a member of one of the teams had a cancerous mole, which practically saved his life.
Nadia Popovici was watching the Vancouver Canucks game against the Seattle Kraken, at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on October 23, 2021, when she saw
a small mole on the neck
of Brian 'Red' Hamilton, assistant manager of the team of the Canucks.
Popovici, a pre-med student ready to continue her education, waited for the game to end, gestured for Hamilton to come closer, and held her phone against the transparent court protector to show him a message she wrote, in which he urged Hamilton to check his mole with a specialist.
The reunion after the game in which the fan received the reward. Capture via NBC News
After the game, Hamilton followed his advice and went to see a doctor.
Popovici had not been wrong: it
was a type 2 malignant melanoma
, a type of skin cancer.
"It was only in the outer layer of my skin, it had not penetrated until the second layer, and that is because we detected it very early. It was relatively new," said Hamilton this Saturday during a press conference.
"She lengthened my life. I have a wonderful family. I have a wonderful daughter. She saved my life," he added.
And he continued: "It took me out of a slow fire. The doctor told me that if I ignored the tumor for four or five years,
it would not be here
."
This Saturday, Hamilton wrote a letter that he shared on social media from the Vancouver Canucks and asked for help in finding the girl who had helped him.
"This woman I'm trying to find, you changed my life, and now I want to find you to say THANK YOU SO MUCH!", He wrote in the text.
"
The problem is, I don't know who you are
or where you are from."
The letter reached Popovici's mother, who commented on the post on Facebook.
"She has not seen the message yet, because she worked the night shift at the Seattle Suicide Crisis Center, so she is still asleep. You will be surprised to see this message," her mother wrote.
She added: "She will be at the game that night, in the same seats. She will be very excited and happy to hear that you had [the tumor] checked.
What wonderful news! She has
just been accepted into several medical schools." .
[Blue Jackets ice hockey goalie was killed by fireworks hitting his chest]
The teams gave him the money for the expenses of his studies.
This is how Latino students can access scholarships and continue with higher education
Dec. 30, 202 105: 11
In a video posted on social media that afternoon, the two can be seen, wearing masks, together and hugging.
During the reunion, Hamilton said he was initially surprised by Popovici's action, but later clarified that he was deeply grateful for his "effort" and "persistence" in getting his message across.
[Teachers crawl across the floor in a money-raising contest causing outrage during a hockey game]
"I must have had her checked," he said in the video, referring to Popovici.
The Canucks won 5-2, but the best moment of the night was when they posted a photo of Popovici and Hamilton on their networks, with the message: "
The biggest win tonight
."
