Tuesday was going to be a special night for the Waters family.
After all, it’s not every day that your son gets singled out to drop the ceremonial first puck in front of close to 18,000 raucous fans at TD Garden.
But for Jarlath Waters, the pomp and circumstance surrounding Quinn — his three-year-old son — and the pregame festivities on Tuesday was just a footnote on a night that meant much, much more for the Weymouth-based family.
The true highlight was much more subdued, if not pedestrian — and something that most often take for granted.
It was the first time in which Quinn had been able to walk out in public with his family in over nine months.
On “Hockey Fights Cancer Night” at TD Garden, the sight of Quinn and Jarlath walking out to center ice — fist-bumping plenty of Bruins along the way — stood as a massive triumph, especially considering where the youngster was just a few months ago.
https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1189330804339548160
Diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a tumor on his brain stem, just a day after his third birthday, Quinn endured months of chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions, hospitalizations and more — all coming after an initial surgery removed around 95 percent of the mass.
While Quinn’s spirit never wavered, these aggressive treatments took their toll on him over the summer, with his toughest bouts of chemotherapy coming in mid-June.
During those long nights, Jarlath and Quinn managed to find a small sliver of solace in the Bruins, who were in the midst of a seven-game showdown with the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final.
“During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Quinn was probably at his worst, as far as health wise,” Jarlath said. “We watched every game in the room. I guess that’s a big part of it — the Bruins got us through some rough nights. Just me and him.”
The Bruins helped the Waters during their most trying times this summer. On Tuesday, Quinn and Co. were more than happy to return the favor, providing some inspiration of their own.
Quinn only had one request ahead of puck drop on Tuesday.
“He told me to score one for him," fellow Weymouth native Charlie Coyle said.
Coyle and Quinn met earlier this summer, when Quinn had to be confined to his family's house on the South Shore for months. An exhaustive treatment regimen left Quinn's immune system extremely fragile, with isolation being on the only prescribed course while he built up more resistance to the outside world.
To be expected, Quinn was far from thrilled.
“He had 100 days in our house in isolation,"Jarlath said. "For a three-year-old, that’s a life sentence."
But Quinn found solace in the "Quinndow" - a window facing out towards the front lawn. He may not have been able to step outside, but both family and friends could come to him — with the "Quinndow" serving as an outlet for others to keep Quinn company and take his mind off of his current situation.
Word of mouth quickly spread — and soon, far more than than just the usual suspects started to arrive outside of the Waters' home. A constant stream of local police and firefighters made appearances. The Dropkick Murphys put on an impromptu show. Even Tom Brady sent along a video message of support for "The Mighty Quinn."
"We decided to give him the window so that people can come down and visit him," Jarlath said. "It was amazing. The whole community showed up — from family members to local police officers, fire fighters — it just snowballed into this massive outpouring of community. We were overwhelmed by it. It got him through his roughest days."
As the summer months dragged along, Quinn's story drew more and more headlines. But before things really started to get out of hand, Jarlath and his wife, Tara, remember getting a Facebook message of support from Coyle back in the midst of Boston's playoff push. Coyle eventually had a chance to meet Quinn outside of the "Quinndow" — with the B's forward bringing plenty of gifts, while also taking part in a nerf gun fight.
Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
Bruins
On ‘Hockey Fights Cancer Night’, a pair of Bruins found plenty of resolve in a 3-year-old boy & a 'fellow Xaverian brother'
"For him to do that when he was going through the biggest, most important games of his career — it meant a lot," Jarlath said of Coyle's Facebook message back in June. "When he came to the house, he made a real connection with him. We’re blessed to have that connection."
Jarlath said that the latest MRI showed no sign of any new disease — "
which is basically the best possible outcome," he added. Quinn finally was able to leave home in late September, with the Waters clan spending an evening at Nantasket Beach.
David Krejci
John Lema
(Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
Chris Wagner,
Tom Boudreau
"We’re going to start raising money for him," Wagner said. "ToughTom.com. Give him a shout-out, he’s a fellow Xaverian brother. He’s one of my best friends."
"The kids teach you about hope," Jarlath said of Quinn. "He’s taught us so much about strength and positivity in the face of adversity. He’s basically been so positive and happy and upbeat. You can’t help but be anything but positive yourself."
(Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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