The Malik Report
Praying for Skippy: Red Wings Alumni Association president Shawn Burr has leukemia
by George Malik on 02/27/11 at 08:46 AM ET
Comments (6)
For once, I’m going to ask y’all to let the Delicate Genius and the fact that he hasn’t watched a hockey game the whole way through since 1998 be. Today, he tells us the story of Red Wings Alumni Association president Shawn Burr, a long-time Wing and consummate good guy who, as Fox Sports Detroit’s Ken Daniels revealed on Saturday’s broadcast, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia recently:
Last Monday—less than a week ago—Shawn Burr was a free man. He saw his daughter’s game, he came home, he made a shake with pomegranate seeds, something his wife had purchased at Costco. Next day, he felt funny. His tongue developed red spots. “The seeds,” he figured. He also was exhausted. He went to the doctor. While there, he began to sweat. They sent him to the hospital. Blood was taken. When another doctor said, “We need to check something,” Shawn turned to his wife, Amanda, and said, “This isn’t good news. Did you see his face?”
It wasn’t good news. Burr, 44, was helicoptered from Port Huron to the University of Michigan Medical Center with a blood count that was as lopsided as a bankruptcy budget.
On Thursday, three days from the pomegranate shake, he underwent the first of 21 chemotherapy treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, a bone marrow cancer in which abnormal white cells attack normal cells like a 3-on-1 hockey rush. If you know Shawn Burr, you just want to cry. And if you know Shawn Burr, he just wants to laugh.
Continued, and it’s worth your time because Burr truly is one of the good ones. Hang in there, Skippy.
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Comments
‘Missed much of the telecast last night, and just woke up to this news. Prayers to Shawn Burr. I’m too stunned to write anything else.
Posted by OldRedBarn from Saginaw County on 02/27/11 at 09:53 AM ET
here is the link http://www.freep.com/article/20110227/COL01/102270623/Mitch-Albom-Shawn-Burr-vs-cancer-my-money-s-on-Burr?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
Posted by Shanny on 02/27/11 at 11:47 AM ET
Burr was one of my favorite Wings of that era, along with Petr Klima. Was very saddened to hear this news. Hopefully he can be one of the lucky ones to find a way to beat it.
Posted by Primis on 02/27/11 at 02:38 PM ET
Burr was one of my favorite Wings of that era, along with Petr Klima. Was very saddened to hear this news. Hopefully he can be one of the lucky ones to find a way to beat it.
Posted by Primis on 02/27/11 at 11:38 AM ET
Same here. His work ethic could teach a thing or two to today’s bunch.
Fight. This.
Posted by WingsFanInBeanLand from Where free agents no longer want to go. on 02/27/11 at 04:48 PM ET
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The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.
It’s early so I may be missing something, but the link goes to a story about the trade deadline.
I lost my mom to cancer. They really need to lick this disease.
Posted by HockeyFanOhio from Central Ohio on 02/27/11 at 09:44 AM ET