Meet our Honorary Captain – Gabe.

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Gabriel was competing in the championship game of the Pepsi Invitational hockey tournament in Buffalo. 3 days later, the day before his 11th birthday, we were in the ER at Albany Med because he was having severe headaches. After a CT scan, a child-life specialist brought Gabe a Lego set while a neurologist gave his mother and I the most terrifying news imaginable – the scan showed a tumor in the pineal region of his brain. He needed surgery right away to relieve the hydrocephalus causing the headaches and biopsy the tumor.

Instead of celebrating his birthday, Gabe had to muster all his strength to enter an operating room for the first time and undergo a procedure he understood little about. 4 hours later, the doctor came out and let us know the procedure went exactly as planned.

The biopsy revealed Gabe had a papillary tumor of the pineal region, a cancerous tumor so rare in children there was zero plan of attack other than another surgery to attempt complete resection.

On April 29, Gabe went into another operating room, this time at New York Presbyterian, to have the tumor removed. After a lengthy surgery, the surgeon let us know he felt the procedure was a complete success. A follow up scan confirmed the tumor was gone!

It was on our way to this surgery, I heard from Jeff at Building on Love that our mortgage would be taken care of for the next 3 months. This was incredible since we were planning to spend the majority of that time in NYC for proton radiation therapy and we had not been able to find a place to stay. I would also need to take leave from work to be with Gabe. I can’t even begin to describe the peace of mind this brought our family during an incredibly stressful time. BOL lifting this burden off our shoulders allowed us to fully be with Gabe during his treatment and recovery.

After 6 weeks of proton therapy, along with an even longer period of physical and occupational therapy, Gabe was able to return to the ice in September at a Skills camp in Saratoga. I still don’t have words to express how it felt to see him on the ice again, but still get chills just thinking about it. God placed so many amazing people around us during our time of need, and we will be forever grateful to each and every one.

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2024 will mark the 15th edition of the Capital Cup for Kids, the premiere adult hockey fundraising event in Upstate, NY.
 
As it has been since our inception, the focus of the Capital Cup for Kids will be to raise funds and awareness for children battling a life-threating medical condition and their families in need in the Capital Region. 
 
This year we will provide support to Building on Love who is managing the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities of presenting the event. Funds will also benefit Capital Cup for Kids, Inc. We will also be granting funds to Make A Wish of NENY and other local organizations. Your gift will do a lot of good!
 
The 2024 event will feature 400+ participants making up 24 teams competing in four divisions, all vying for their names on the Capital Cup as well as for the bragging rights as the tourney’s largest fundraiser.
 
We are counting on your support! You can donate on this page, or purchase raffle tickets by clicking here: go.rallyup.com/ccfk24/Campaign/Details