From a Leafs fan.

Edit: Video for those who missed it and for those who want to relive it.

Downvote all you want, but the dude is clearly MAGA. Taking a photo with a p*dophile protector was a CHOICE he decided to make. They all say to keep politics out of it, yet he is choosing to bring politics into it. He mailed it in before these Olympics, talked a whole lot of shit about Canada, and we'll probably never hear the end of it on his god forsaken podcast with his brother. You don't see Sandy doing any of this shit.

Give the C to Timmy and move on.

This has nothing to do with hockey or the Senators and I'm sorry... I just feel quite attached to the community here and feel lucky to have been around a group of people who share the same kind of passion for this team and this city as I do... so I want to share something very personal and difficult both for personal reflection sake and in the hopes that maybe I can inspire even one person.

Time for real talk. My actual diagnosis with a team of doctors is tomorrow, but I've already basically been told what's likely to happen... I believe that at 26 I'll be diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer which has spread to my liver. If anything changes, I'll update... but if I'm being honest with myself I already know. All it takes is a quick search to find that the odds of surviving beyond a year are only 15% and beyond five years is only 8%... but the odds are only 2% if the cancer has spread to another part of the body. I feel robbed of so much life and opportunity; I won't have the opportunity to marry my girlfriend of 5 years like we've been planning, won't have the opportunity to have children of my own, and won't have the opportunity to see the Sens win the Cup (obviously the most important).

So why am I posting this? Well, for one it's kind of cathartic, but I suppose partly to say thank you for the good times and I hope to continue contributing and discussing this team moving forward. That said, I'm posting more-so to say that no matter how old you are or how good of health you're otherwise in, take nothing for granted. This came out of nowhere for me and I'm otherwise active, healthy, young, and apparently just incredibly fucking unlucky. Live your life without excuses and without holding back. You're going to have days where you feel like shit and don't want to do anything, and by all means have those days... but take advantage of your time and your health when you're able to, and make sure that you tell anyone you love just how much you love them. I wished I'd started doing all of this earlier, but I'm going to start now. Hopefully I can be part of the small percentage of people who has the opportunity to put this new perspective into use long-term, because it's something I wish I'd been able to understand a long time ago. Of course you never expect it to be you, but when it is it hits like a fucking Phaneuf.

(Edit) August 4: Every time one of you bastards answer I start getting man tears. I appreciate all the support and kind words more than you know. Also, I love Karlsson.

(Edit) August 5, 7:30AM: My appointment with the team of doctors is in half an hour and I'm absolutely terrified. Hope it's better news than I'm expecting. Fingers crossed!

(Edit) August 5, 12:00PM: Did not think this post would get so big and I appreciate all the support from everyone. Meeting today went over my CT and sounded like a tumor started on my pancreas and spread. Don't know what type and still not 100% that the liver lesions are cancerous... will be admitted Monday evening to get a faster inpatient biopsy done. My first overnight hospital visit! I wonder if they'll let me toodle around on my laptop...

(Edit) August 6, 8:00AM: Wow... RIP inbox. The amount of responses leaves me speechless but I'm going to attempt to respond to everyone who's posted here so far, even if it's just a short thank you! I'll throw another update on here Monday or Tuesday but wanted to say I've definitely noticed how widespread this post has gotten and can't begin to fully express how awestruck I am. Thank you all once again.

(Edit) August 9, 1:50AM: In the hospital overnight while awaiting biopsy procedure. Currently can't eat or drink as of midnight as the procedure could happen at any time we get to the morning. May be here through Wednesday. I'm sure I'll update more tomorrow if for no other reason than I can't do much else all day! Also, earplugs are a damn miracle for sleep here... the first of many pro tips I'm sure I'll soon be figuring out.

(Edit) August 9, 5:30PM: Biopsy scheduled for 2:00PM tomorrow (Wednesday). On the negative side it means another night in hospital... on the positive side I get off the IV and can eat til midnight. Could only get one slice of pizza in though. Dammit. If all goes well it's back with the other half and the derpiest cat in the world tomorrow around 7:00PM.

(Edit) August 10, 7:00PM: Biopsy went fine. No idea on results timeline. Sounds like I'll be stuck here another night for some reason even though this is normally an outpatient thing and I've had no problems related to the procedure. Frustrating when one night turns into three... ah well.

(Edit) August 11, 10:15AM: Freedom! Heading home. Will have results anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks depending on how many tests they do on the samples. Waiting is terrifying but I'm lucky to have even had a biopsy in a few days instead of a few weeks and incredibly lucky to be somewhere that this isn't bankrupting me. Heading back home in the Valley for a couple days then to Ottawa for the weekend to catch up with friends before going back to Toronto. Hope to go back to work next week but will have to see how things go.

(Edit) August 15, 3:30PM: Had a nice couple days back in Ottawa over the weekend. Definitely miss being there, was hard to leave and go back to Toronto. Just left an appointment this morning with the radiologist as a follow-up to my biopsy last week. News isn't great... very hard day for my family. I'll be having a pump put in Wednesday that will deliver chemotherapy drugs while I'm an outpatient. That may start as early as Friday. That said, as had already been assumed by me they said that the cancer isn't going away, that it will eventually stop responding to treatment, and that this is what will end my life. Keeping up hope is hard right now... to finally hear them say what I thought I already knew. Given the news I'm considering accelerating a move back to Ottawa as they said it wouldn't impact treatment. I'd rather be somewhere I'm happy and both my girlfriend and I have the support groups we need to make this as easy as possible.

(Edit) August 18, 5:00PM: So yesterday saw a small surgery where I had a portacath inserted in my upper chest to replace constantly being poked by IVs and that they'll use as a direct line for chemo (and let me have chemo as an outpatient over 48-hour courses). Still sore, but healing up now! Might take a picture of it and add later. On top of that, today I had another minor surgery in the form of another liver biopsy down at Princess Margaret in Toronto. I'll be transferring care there from for the duration of this. Hopefully some genetics testing might lead to further treatment options once chemo stops working in the future. Chemo starts tomorrow, though, and I've got quite the concoction of pills to start taking and really hoping my body is able to handle all of this (there are unfortunate new concerns about the progress of the disease in my liver).

(Edit) August 18, 10:00PM: So it looks as if my wonderful girlfriend has set up a GoFundMe to help try and support the both of us through this. It's looking very much like I'll be unable to work from here on out and will be trying to bank on EI, Trilliam Benefits, and ODSP, but any amount helps immensely. I never intended to ask for donations or monetary support through this, but today hit hard with the cost of all these medications and looming unemployment. You've all already done so much in terms of supporting me, and I want you to know that I appreciate it beyond words. That said, if you're able to give then any amount will go a long way.

(Edit) August 22, 6:00PM: Alright, so this will be the final edit to the Reddit post. I'm not sure how many are still following, but I'll continue to update what's going on along with pictures and progress on the GoFundMe page that I linked above. You don't have to donate anything, I just want to make sure that you know where to go if you want to be able to keep following me (we, both of us really) along in this journey. Thank you all once again for your support and kindness, and take care. I hope to keep hearing from some of you along the way!

(Edit) September 3, 8:30PM: So I lied. This is the final update. I've started up a blog for anyone who's interested in following my progress. It will focus on my life as a whole - a life that happens to include cancer. I'm doing my best to avoid being defined by my disease. I will, of course, regularly update on my health as I go along as it is a part of my life and I cannot avoid that. So please feel free to stop by, follow me, or leave a comment :) You can find it at Matt Has a Blog Now. Thank you for your support once again!

LFG!!! PROUD OF Y'ALL!

I'm going to boo the US National anthem tonight.

Screw their BS tariffs

Y'all in?

Let O Canada roar tonight!!

Edit :

I hear you guys.

Remain seated I will be.. still might hear me boo

WE LOVE HUGHES

WE LOVE HUGHES

WE LOVE HUGHES

(Boston is also cheering rn lmao)

been a sens fan all my life. gained consciousness when before the 2007 stanley cup finals.

i got to watch daniel alfredsson lead this team. i got to watch jason spezza try and fail, but he gave everything he could to our franchise. i saw erik karlsson drag a mediocre team to the conference team finals.

and then i watched brady tkachuk, hold out for a contract and got the captaincy as apart of his contract negotiations, when chabot deserved it all along. take fights at the end of losing games that never made sense, and just left the team down an important player. never gave it his all when it mattered. started a podcast to joke about leaving. hang out at trumps birthday party.

never gave it his all here. ive only heard of alexei yashin, maybe he was worse, but by god this was the worst captain ive ever had to experience in my life as a sens fan. goodbye. don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Edit: eugene melnyk bad

Edit 2: ian mendes good

Edit 3: u/bustlinslug u/valentine96 the people have spoken

Looked like the December senators tonight

BRADY, BRADY, BRADY

I was in my car waiting for a friend in a 7-11 parking lot in BC when I noticed a truck pull in with a leafs flag flying. I happened to be wearing my vintage Sens hat. After a quick ocular assessment that he probably wasnt a dick I decided to chirp him lightly as he walked past my car. I shouted "Hey buddy!" and when he turned i tapped my hat and gave him a go sens go. He came up to my car and the two of us just pushed about how excited we were for the battle of Ontario. We chatted for a minute or two before he went into the store.

I was still waiting when he came out of the store carrying two Monsters. He approached the car again, handed me a can, and said "good luck in the first round, you're going to need it."

Just an absolutely perfect interaction between rival fans. I didn't get his name we just talked puck and went our separate ways.

I can't bloody wait for the playoffs to start.