Bryan Murray was a very caring man but was hardnosed,
sarcastic, loud in the hockey world. He
earned his stripes from early years as a hockey player but most importantly as
a Hockey Coach. He was a team builder, a
people person and most of all a family man from the small town of Shawville QC
who knew what it took to be a “family man, friend, coach and a mentor”. I had known “of him” as I am a hockey fan and
a supporter of the Ottawa Senators. My
early introduction to Bryan was when he assumed the role of Coach of the Ottawa
Senators in 2004 – the year of the lockout.
He worked his magic on which his reputation had been built and took the
Senators to the Stanley Cup playoff Finals in 2007. Incidentally, he is the only coach who has
scaled that wall and been successful to get the Senators to the finals.
Bryan and I have never met.
I was at the same fund raisers around hockey charity events for several
years and I saw him regularly chatting up people from many walks of life. I have also said “good morning” at Starbucks and
made small talk but we have never met.
Regardless, this man has had a profound effect on me and has set a high
bar in bravery, courage and resilience as he mounted an effort to deal with
Colon Cancer. My thin link to Bryan is
that on November 15, 2014 Bryan went public about his Cancer Challenge and it
was the commencement of his push to encourage all “to get checked”. His observation at that point in time was
that if you got checked regularly there was a greater chance of catching this
disease before it took hold of your system.
That did mean that people would have to undergo a Colonoscopy and who
wanted to have that test! In his case he was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon
Cancer and his Dr Team set about establishing a program that would be best suit
his immediate needs.
It so happens that on that same day (Nov 15th
2014) I was diagnosed with colon cancer by my Dr. Auer. That set in place a bond, of sorts, and I
continued to follow his public process up until his death. His battle was one of courage and he was
never shy to insist that whoever he spoke to was knowledgeable about what was
going on inside their colon. His
advocacy was well known as he completed his tenure as GM of the Senators and
continued his battle with Cancer until his death 12 days ago. The news of his death caught me off guard a
bit, during a period where I have been introspective and questioning myself
about all of the issues around cancer treatment. Since I have been having issues with WBC
counts (low immune system) I have been laying low in between treatments and
trying to encourage my body to increase my the capacity of my immune system so
as not to interrupt what seems to be an endless number of treatments. That meant that I laid down some tools on
home projects, spent far more time reading, spent plenty of time alone (and now
with our cat) and thinking somewhat introspectively over the a period of about
2 months. The effects of those
activities have been positive and negative as I guess all things fall that
way. On the positive side I have had
fewer “sick days” and my WBC count has made it up to minimum levels prior to treatment. On the negative side I have become somewhat of
a recluse and falling under the spell of some of the dark thoughts that can happen
when one is distressed, depressed and seeing the half empty glass. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a critical
case of depression as a result of any conclusions I have drawn but simply
losing a bit of the edge on my positive thinking and being less courageous and
resilient when thinking about my situation.
Clearly I needed a boot in the pants to get past this brooding mood.
Today, I got that kick in the pants as listened to the
tremendous strength that Bryan had while he was conducting his life, supporting
his family, inspiring the Senators and attending to all of his friends while he
was dealing with his Cancer. The
memorial only lasted an hour but it was a great hour for me. It was MC’d by Dean Brown and a fellow announcer and
celebration of life speeches were delivered by Lynn Hearty-Coutts (his niece)
as a family representative, Gary Bettman
(on what Bryan left for us), Chris Phillips (on Bryan’s tyranny in the locker
room, his sense of humour and his love of his players) and finally Pierre
Dorion (current GM ) and Randy Lee (AGM) (on what Bryan brought to the Senators
). Each of the speakers extolled Bryan’s finer points and allowed us a window
into this man’s attitudes, feelings, strengths and weaknesses. Each had their own slant on the respect for
and the privilege they had of knowing and being part of Bryan’s life in some
way. It was a very inspiring hour and
cemented my view that Bryan was a courageous and resilient individual who
thought of others before himself right up until the end of his life.
I feel better about many things having spent that hour. It is my hope that this kick in the pants
will assist me in being more positive, outgoing, giving and most of all loving
with the people who are part of my life.
That is a good feeling.
Thank you Bryan Murray for your inspiration on this day and
the days ahead. As I wrote in the
Memorial Book, “Keep your stick on the ice.
Play on .....”
Thank you to those of you who dropped in to read this and I
hope your day ahead is a great one.
Be well and happy ..... Paul
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