The recent news of Gino Odjick being diagnosed with a rare terminal illness affecting his heart inspired people to rally in Vancouver in his honour. This reminded me of Geoff Berner’s song “Fighting to Stay in the Game” which recounts Gino’s life. The song was performed in 2011 for a special concert called Stolen From A Hockey Card.

Upon the news Geoff posted this on his Facebook page, “Thinking of Gino Odjick today. He’s an intelligent, brave man. They say he has AL (Primary) Amyloidosis and is unlikely to live much longer. The symptoms of his disease are so close to Repetitive Head Injury Syndrome that it makes me suspicious, especially given recent articles in the nytimes casting doubt on even Lou Gehrig having ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). If your kid gets a concussion, get them out of contact sports. No more human sacrifice.”

I find Geoff’s song about Gino inspiring and more poignant than ever. Gino’s fight to stay in the game may be over but his actions will be remember for a long time.