Former Blackhawk Bryan Bickell Copes With MS By Staying Positive
(CBS) – He helped the Chicago Blackhawks win three Stanley Cups.
Now, newly retired Bryan Bickell is trying to win another battle against the brain-attacking disease Multiple Sclerosis.
Bickell's greatest moment as a member of the Blackhawks came in the 2013 playoffs, which ended with a win against the Bruins with the second of three Stanley Cups this decade.
Not long after that high point, Bickell began treatment for vertigo, which doctors believed came from concussions. He had a battery of tests runs but no answers.
It wasn't until Bickell was traded to Carolina last fall that he learned the answer, which started with discomfort in his shoulder. It spread.
Multiple Sclerosis causes problems with vision, balance, muscle control and other basic body functions. Bickell began getting a monthly infusion of an MS drug.
Bickell decided he would work his way back into the Hurricane lineup, and after several months he did. In his last game ever, he was in a dramatic shootout.
Now, through their foundation, the Bickells, animal lovers, are going to raise money for service dogs for others with MS.
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