Predators fan with terminal cancer lives on for Stanley Cup run
NASHVILLE – How would you spend your last days?
It was a decision Christina Wynter had to make when she was diagnosed with Stage IV terminal cancer.
“They said the mass in my lung was eight centimeters, roughly the size of my fist. They said it spread to my liver, my bone and my spine, which is why I couldn’t walk, and my brain,” she told Heather Hourigan of WSMV-TV in Nashville.
She didn’t smoke. She was living a healthy life. But she was told she had six months to live.
Faced with what to do with the rest of her life, Wynter’s thoughts turned to one of her true passions: Nashville Predators hockey. She had supported the team, in particular goalie Pekka Rinne, from afar. And so, in the lowest moment of her life, she made a declaration to her doctor:
“I literally said, ‘I’m not going anywhere until my team wins the Cup.’ I literally said that to the oncologist,” Wynter said. “And she didn’t really get it.”
So she moved from California to Nashville, and became a season-ticket holder. “I figured since I’m terminal, I might as well move across the country and support my favorite team for the rest of my life,” she said.
Six months to live … when she was diagnosed in 2014.
As Wynter puts it, she “outlived my original expiration date” and is now watching the Predators play for the Stanley Cup, while undergoing experimental treatment at Vanderbilt University (and making progress). She rocks a yellow wig with little mascot ears at games, and cheers wildly for the Predators.
“It’s been such a journey. Every round that they win, I’m just blown away. I’m just crying now,” she said. “It just validates my decision to move here.”
Watch the full interview with her here.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
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