A woman who alerted a hockey employee to a suspicious mole on his neck has been given a medical scholarship to say thank you for saving his life.
Nadia Popovici was in the stands behind the Vancouver Canucks assistant chief of equipment, Brian Hamilton, to watch their match against the Seattle Kraken back in October when she saw the mole.
Fans preparing to study medical school alerted Mr Hamilton to the growth by writing a message on his phone and pressing it against the glass separating supporters and team members.
As a result, he had a doctor take a look at the mole, which was subsequently removed and found to be carcinogenic.
“She extended my life … she saved my life,” Mr Hamilton said.
The words out of the doctor’s mouth were, if I ignored that for four to five years I would not be here.
“How she saw it confuses my mind. It was not very big, I’m wearing a jacket, I’re wearing a radio on the back of my jacket … she’s a hero.”
After acting on Mrs Popovici’s advice, Mr Hamilton wanted to say thank you but did not know her name, so set up an appeal on social media to track her down.
The team tweeted that they wanted to find the tab before returning to play Seattle at the Climate Pledge Arena on January 1, and within a few hours they had succeeded.
Hamilton and Mrs Popovici were reunited following an appeal on social media. Photo: Twitter / @Canucks
“The message you showed me on your cell phone will forever be engraved in my brain and has made a truly life-changing difference for me and my family,” Mr Hamilton wrote in the appeal.
“Your instincts were right, and the mole on the back of my neck was a malignant melanoma, and thanks to your persistence and the quick work of our doctors, it’s gone now.”
The pair were reunited at the National Hockey League match, where Mrs Popovici told him: “I was so nervous about picking it up, so I tried to catch you at a time when there were not many people around. I’m so happy you saw.”
It was later announced that both teams had joined forces to award Ms Popovici a $ 10,000 (£ 7,392) scholarship for medical school.
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