How John Tavares and a random act of kindness gave a young Leafs fan recovering from brain surgery the ‘highlight of his life’

John Tavares helped the Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks. Then he helped create a memory that will last a lifetime for a young fan recovering from brain surgery.

Henry Pye, 11, had a large tumour removed last December at the Hospital for Sick Children. He couldn’t sit up, move his head, open his eyes or talk for several days after the operation. Once he started to make progress and regain strength, his family began to think about ways to celebrate his recovery.

They decided to take him to a hockey game.

“It was our first outing in real life after the surgery and it was his first time at a Leafs game, which was an amazing experience,” said Tanya Pye, Henry’s mother. “We were just so happy we could go out again.”

A fun night at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 15 would become unforgettable for Henry’s family thanks to the “serendipitous, random act of kindness” of a stranger and the generosity of the Leafs captain.

First, an usher invited Henry to join a few other kids and fist-bump players as they took the ice. With mobility still an issue after surgery (Henry now uses a walker while his recovery continues) the usher and another man helped carry Henry down near the tunnel, and back to his seat.

“That in itself was unbelievable — like, who gets that opportunity at their first game?” said Tanya, adding that Henry returned with “a glowing face.”

That was just the start. A family seated nearby then invited Henry and his mom to join them at a post-game meet-and-greet with Tavares. They couldn’t believe what was happening.

“All these people going out of their way to be nice to us. We looked like we needed a good night out, I guess,” she said. “And John was just so kind and so genuine … I’m still blown away.”

After recording a goal and an assist in a 5-2 Leafs win, Tavares spent time with both families — signing autographs, posing for pictures and praising Henry’s courage.

“John really showed extreme kindness and decency, and Henry was just beaming all throughout the meeting and afterwards,” said Mark Ross, who had booked the meet-and-greet for his own son, then made Henry and his mom their plus-one.

“Kids dream about meeting a Leafs player, let alone the team captain. A moment like that, it’s a different sort of pick-me-up for a kid who has been through so much in life and still has so much to look forward to. It was special.”

As the father of two young kids, Tavares said Henry’s situation hit home.

“As you get older, you start to see (your kids) and all the other stuff like that. You start to imagine them in those kind of situations, and you feel it more,” Tavares told the Star’s Bruce Arthur this past week.

Tanya said recently that Henry continues to make progress in rehab at SickKids: regaining some speech and mobility, and able to see independently with both eyes despite persistent double vision.

“He’s a very determined and independent little guy who’s very motivated to succeed,” she said, adding that her son thought it was funny to be carried down the stairs at the game; in hospital, he tries to do everything himself.

Now that the Pyes are “Leafs fans for life,” Tanya says Henry is looking forward to his next game. While the first one turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the plan is to make a return visit with his grandparents and other family members some time in the future.

“What Henry keeps saying to us is that he wishes everything could go back to normal. That was a normal night for him because, for a brief moment, it didn’t involve the hospital routines,” Tanya said. “That is what kids and their families do: They go out and have fun and get to do normal things.”

“It’s been a long road, and we still have a long road ahead of us, but that night was by far the highlight of the last 13 weeks and it will be the highlight of his life. Just incredible.”

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