A Nova Scotia man who is a die-hard Ottawa Senators fan experienced the “thrill of a lifetime” on Saturday when he ran into a few of his hockey heroes at Scotiabank Place before he watched his favourite team take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Scott MacGillivray is from Antigonish, N.S. He said he has been on dialysis for more than 30 years and has had four kidney transplants over the years but all of them have failed.
He goes to St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish for dialysis three times a week. Some of the nurses there, as well as members of a local men’s hockey league paid for MacGillivray’s game tickets, airfare and hotel.
“It's so hard to believe that there are so many generous people out there and I just can't thank everybody enough for what they've done,” MacGillivray said.
He said getting to watch a game in person is a “dream come true.”
“To come here and experience stuff live, it’s just unreal. Like I said right now I’m speechless,” he said.
George Barrett and his wife Eileen are hosting MacGillivray and his brother while they are in Ottawa. He says MacGillivray is an inspiration.
“They told me once you meet him, you'll never forget him,” said Barrett. “Given what he's been through we're so happy he could make the trip.”
MacGillivray also got a chance to chat with head coach and Antigonish native Paul MacLean. The pair had met before when MacLean brought the Stanley Cup to MacGillivray’s dialysis unit.
MacGillivray plans to explore Ottawa before he heads back to Nova Scotia on Sunday night.
With a report from CTV’s Katie Griffin
