DENVER — Monday was a cold, January morning outside of Ball Arena in Denver. But it was a warm welcome for a 12-year-old from Texas, in town for her Make-A-Wish with the Colorado Avalanche.
“You get to wear the big chain,” team community reps said as Jackie Bateman and her family were given a gift bag full of Avs gear.
The day started with morning skate for the team, with Jackie sitting front and center on the team’s bench as players took the ice. She fist-bumped several players who came over to chat.
“This is incredible,” Jackie told her mom when she returned to her front-row seat behind the glass to watch the rest of practice.
That would just be the start of a day that this young girl would call the "best day ever" just a few hours later.
Jackie and family were taken inside the Avalanche locker room, where the 12-year-old took over some interview responsibilities, sitting down with forward Jonathan Drouin.
“How do you beat the Bruins?” Jackie asked, following up with insight into how she got to this day. “I know about stitches.”
Those came from her brain surgery. Two years ago, doctors found a tumor on her brain. A surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation followed. Her mom gave a current update on her health.
“She is currently in remission,” mom Vicki said.
The smiles kept coming for Jackie, as she met player after player, having short conversations and taking photos. That hit a bit of an apex as her favorite player came up to say hi.
“I’m Nate,” Nathan MacKinnon said to a suddenly slightly shy Jackie. He took a photo, then signed one of his sticks, writing "To Jackie, Your Pal, Nathan MacKinnon.”
“Oh my God. Best day ever,” Jackie said after he walked away.
That "best" would get better, as the team presented her with a team-signed jersey hanging in her own locker in the Avalanche locker room.
“Unbelievable,” Jackie said. “Not in a thousand years would I think that I would get my locker in this locker room."
Her mom echoed those sentiments, through a lot of happy tears.
“Indescribable. Emotional. I wish it would never end,” she said.
A cold day, warmed by a wish, capped off with an Avalanche win over Boston in a shootout, as Jackie watched on from a suite.
“I think this is going to stick with her for a very, very long time,” Vickie said.
“Today means I got through cancer. I survived. And I got my wish,” Jackie added. “The most amazing day of my life.”
