DENVER – In the forced retirement of Alonzo Mourning, the Devils’ rookie faced the stern reality of what he must prevent in his battle with Berger’s Disease.
“Yeah, I had some thoughts,” defenseman David Hale said of Mourning’s need for a kidney transplant, ending his NBA career. “It shows you that you have to think about what you have, that it many not always be there for you. You hate to see that he had to retire from the game he loved so much.”
The 22-year-old returns tonight to his native Colorado for the first time as an NHLer, hoping to be in the lineup when the Devils visit the Avalanche.
Hale suffers from a different kidney ailment from Mourning, but another incurable one that often follows the same path, to dialysis and even a transplant.
“They’re both kidney diseases,” Hale said of making the connection with Mourning.
Hale missed the much of the end of last season, his junior year at the University of North Dakota. His ailment was diagnosed as Berger’s Disease, which prevents the kidneys from properly filtering the blood. It doesn’t get better, there is no known cure, and it can deteriorate to the point where dialysis or even a transplant is required.
Hale said he has had no episodes of his disease this season, but understands his will be a lifelong battle to keep the symptoms at bay.
“I’ve been on one of the best diets I can be on, and I’m definitely getting enough rest, which is what I need,” Hale said. “Then there’s some stuff on the side that I can do, like take fish oil, Vitamin E.”
The Devils made the unusual move of plugging two rookies into the defense of the Stanley Cup champions. At first, there were eight men on the backline, but when Sean Brown was sent to Albany, it appeared another vote of confidence for Hale and Paul Martin, as well as 39-year-old Tommy Albelin, who talked his way into a tryout for the job as the handyman backliner.
Of late, Pat Burns has separated the two rookies, and Hale has played regularly with Brian Rafalski. It seems a senisble strategy by Burns to provide experienced hands to minimize the inevitable rookie mistakes on defense.
“Playing with a veteran, you have a bit more confidence to make plays, knowing they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be. But Paul’s [reliable], too. We have a lot of confidence in each other.”
He has confidence, too, that his regimen will keep his kidney ailment in check. He has to have faith. There is no alternative, as Mourning learned.
