Links - NHL At darkest hour Larry and Wendy Pleau receive - North River Minor Hockey Association

NHL At darkest hour Larry and Wendy Pleau receive support from extended hockey family ESPNESPN TV RADIO MAGAZINE INSIDER SHOP ESPN360 SPORTSCENTER Ufalse Register NowmyESPN (Sign In)Updated December 8 2009 154 PM ETYou can still see her smilingComment Email Print Share By Scott BurnsideESPNcomArchive ST LOUIS They walk toward the cancer clinic at BarnesJewish Hospital and he reaches for her hand an instinct no more conscious than the last breath he took He opens the door for her his hand gently in the small of her back retracing steps traveled many times over the past three yearsIts quiet here on a sunny Sunday morning and the couple is greeted warmly like old friends by the staff at the clinic Tim one of the health care staff who has been here for so many of these visits tells Larry Pleau and his wife Wendy that hes sorry they missed his homemade turtles the day before They joke about the missed opportunity before Tim disappears and returns a short while later with a box of the candy for WendyJane another staffer works on the threepronged catheter that has been embedded near the tip of Wendys aorta since June 15 2007 drawing blood and then redoing the dressing around the deviceThe device has made the regular blood transfusions and tests and administering of antibiotics easier but it also has been a constant reminder of what has been taken from herEvery time Wendy takes a shower she has to methodically tape a covering on the catheter One of the many things she dreams of is the day when she will simply step into a shower without a second thoughtWhen that day comes Ill be very happy she saysLarry attended the same summer hockey school in Worcester Mass for three straight years in his early teens In those days NHLers worked at hockey schools in the offseason to earn some muchneeded cash Among the instructors at this camp were Montreal Canadiens forward Ralph Backstrom and Chicago great Stan Mikita During Pleaus third year Backstrom called Sam Pollock of the Habs and suggested the Canadiens call someone to take a look at the American prospectA scout named Scotty Bowman showed up at a Sunday afternoon pickup game and offered Pleau a chance to play with the junior Canadiens When Pleau arrived in Montreal he was met at the airplane by Bowman and future Hall of Famer Cliff FletcherNot long after his arrival he caught the eye of a girl working at the YMCA It was Wendy The following season the two began dating St Louis BluesThe Determination Cup was named in honor of Wendy Pleau and is awarded to the team that wins the Blues annual camp tournamentA love story To be sureA story of the power of determination and belief YesA hockey story That tooRobust and perpetually happy a devoted hockey fan and rabid Blues supporter Wendy initially diagnosed herself as having a kidney stone after developing sharp pain in her lower abdomen ar...