Article content continued

Back in Edmonton, when the pair were out to lunch, Scorgie panicked when he noticed one side of his daughter’s face was drooping and rushed her to hospital.

After a battery of tests, specialists at the Stollery Children’s Hospital diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre syndrome.

“I just about started crying in there because they had her walk … It was like she was drunk, she couldn’t do it. She kept falling,” said Scorgie.

While Scorgie worried abut his daughter being able to walk, her only concern was for her upcoming hockey tryouts.

When her parents told her the doctors didn’t know how long it would take for her to recover, and that she might not be able to skate for a year, Scorgie said, “she didn’t like that answer.”

The youngster was determined to get back on the ice, focusing on her treatments and building back her strength and balance.

“She would go up and down the stairs without using the railing to try to get her legs working and her balance back,” said Scorgie.

She was back on her skates in a matter of weeks, but was still experiencing weakness and balance issues when she pushed her parents to let her go to the last day of tryouts.

Photo by David_Bloom David Bloom / David Bloom/Postmedia

She made the team, although at a lower division than she had hoped, but fell in love with her new teammates and coaches, inspiring her to continue her progress for the good of her team, the Edmonton Girls Hockey Association Ice Guardians.

“It felt really good knowing I didn’t have to sit at home worrying about how my team is doing and feeling bad for my team because I’m not there to support them,” said Riley Scorgie. “It definitely felt good to be back on the ice.”

Now symptom free, Scorgie says his daughter has had a “tremendous” season, taking home the puck from her 50th goal on Friday.

“I didn’t think I would do it, it was really exciting getting my 50th goal this year,” she said.

“She’s got 50 goals in 19 games, which is just incredible for someone who had to come back from what she had,” said Scorgie, proud to celebrate not only his daughter’s success in sports, but her bravery and determination in overcoming her health challenges.

twitter.com/ClaireTheobald

ctheobald@postmedia.com