Kirk initially agreed to forgo the father-daughter dance, acknowledging the emotional weight of the moment. She later found herself overwhelmed by the surprise of dancing with her brother.
When Matthew Schaefer went first overall to the New York Islanders, he already had his late mother Jennifer in his thoughts, having lost her to breast cancer. Schaefer had her photo and a signature stitched inside his jacket. But when he was given his first Islanders jersey, it had a purple Hockey Fights Cancer ribbon sewn on the left chest and her initials on the inside collar.
I want to thank all the fans who have been concerned about me. What happened was in the seventh inning, I came to bat, I'm ready at the plate. I hear this fan shouting, he was on top of the dugout. He yelled at me, saying stuff about my mom.
After Kelly replied, "You're going to make me cry," Lees continued, "Honestly, not everyone is there speaking up for us. We're less than 0.5 percent of the population and we are under attack."