Sigalet is keeping a healthy outlook

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Bowling Green goalie Jordan Sigalet couldn't feel how hard he was gripping his stick or squeezing his glove. He couldn't even tie the laces on his shoes. The numbness in his hands was brought on by multiple sclerosis, and Sigalet, one of college hockey's top players, thought it could end his dreams of playing in the NHL.

"The road was pretty dark," he said. "I didn't know how I was going to feel or play."

Though some numbness remains, Sigalet has missed only three of his team's first 20 games this season and is playing better than before his diagnosis last March.

The Boston Bruins' prospect has one of the best save percentages (.925) in the nation, playing in one of the top conferences. He stopped 50 shots in a 1-1 tie against Dartmouth Dec. 30, the team's first game since he announced he had MS.

"He was scary good," said Bowling Green coach Scott Paluch. "It kind of makes you shake your head. When he's on the ice, he's in his element. It's been his relief area."

Sigalet's life changed nearly a year ago when he woke up with numbness in his feet after back-to-back games against Northern Michigan. The next day his whole body was numb.

A team doctor told him after a series of tests that he had MS, an unpredictable disease that causes the body's immune system to attack nerve tissue. Scar tissue forms on the nerves, scrambling impulses that control muscles.

With no known cause or cure, it can leave people tired and numb, with poor coordination, blurred vision, and loss of muscle control. Some have one attack and never experience another, or go years before a second. Others end up becoming more disabled.

"It's a very quirky disease," said Arney Rosenblat, a spokeswoman for the National MS Society.

For nearly a year, Sigalet played and practiced without telling anyone but his team and family about the disease. He decided in December it was time to reveal the truth, saying he wanted to stop blaming the flu for missing a game or feeling the strain of keeping it all inside.

"It's a huge weight lifted off my shoulders," said Sigalet, 23. "I'm not as depressed. Every morning I wake up and it's easier."

Sigalet initially worried about whether he would be able to continue playing hockey and how he would be judged by the Bruins, who made him a seventh-round pick in 2001 and hold his rights.

That's why he kept quiet.

"My future is in hockey," he said. "I know I can do it, but maybe they'll second-guess me. I wanted to prove I could play."

He has adjusted even though the numbness remains. It's not something he likes to talk about in detail.

"It's just something I've adapted to," he said. "It's a part of me. Now it's nothing I have to think about."

He believes he may be a better goaltender now because his concentration has increased.

Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said Sigalet's play has improved this year.

"We just have to wait and see now," said O'Connell, who added that the Bruins will study the disease and its effects. "We don't know what will happen."

Sigalet's college coach is confident he'll get a shot.

"As long as he is able to play, he's going to play at the next level," Paluch said. "He's too committed, and he's too good."

Plus, medications developed in the last decade are able to reduce relapses.

Robert Fox, medical director at The Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research at the Cleveland Clinic, believes the drugs also can help MS patients stay in competitive sports.

"They can stay in sports, they can stay in the workplace, they can stay taking care of their kids," Fox said.

He advises patients to exercise. However, when the body's temperature heats up, it can bring back symptoms such as numbness. Usually, the symptoms are temporary. Stress and fatigue also can trigger an attack.

Sigalet hasn't noticed any ill effects from playing, but he doesn't take hot showers after games anymore.

He's also changed his diet, cutting out red meat, diet sodas, and ice cream. He takes naps after practice and cuts some practices short.

"It's tough enough with a school schedule," said Sigalet, a senior studying computer animation. "We have a long busy day."

When he gets depressed, he leans on his sophomore teammate and 18-year-old brother, Jonathan. They are from Surrey, British Columbia, but never played on the same team until they arrived at Bowling Green.

"We talk about it when he needs to," Jonathan said. "That's about all you can do. There's nothing physical you can do."

Sigalet injects himself three times a week, sometimes with a friend's help. It will be another month before he feels the full effect of the drug, which is supposed to cut down on relapses after six months.

Sigalet thinks he's already overcome his biggest hurdle -- the fear of having MS. Talking about it publicly, and receiving letters and e-mails from others with MS, has helped.

About 400,000 Americans have the disease, which is normally diagnosed in people between 20 and 50.

Sigalet hopes he can inspire others with MS. He's already left a lasting impression on his teammates and coaches. "I can't imagine watching anybody handling this better than Jordan," Paluch said. "How he goes about understanding this disease and how he's concerned about other people -- it says so much about Jordan's character."

"I treat it like it's just another game I have to win," Sigalet said. "It's just a longer game."