OTTAWA — In sports, we often use dramatic phrases like `life and death,` `state of emergency,` and `crisis management.`
However, families truly understand the real weight of these words.
Ottawa Senators winger David Perron and his wife, Vanessa Vandal, have gained a profound understanding of the importance of family and hockey over the past eight months, experiencing more than they ever wished to. Recently, Perron openly discussed with Sportsnet.ca the unexpected and critical health crisis involving their unborn child.
Looking back calmly, Perron admits he now possesses an excess of knowledge about prenatal care and intricate surgeries. While it`s often said that a father knows best, Perron could have been forgiven for feeling overwhelmed by his unborn daughter`s health emergency. Instead, he rose to the occasion, supporting his partner much like he contributed on the ice to bring the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues in 2019. Now, he holds the same aspiration for the rising Senators.
As Vanessa shared during her appearances on the TV series Hockey Wives, she and David first met in Sherbrooke, Quebec, during the 2012-13 NHL lockout.
“On our first date, we talked in a parking lot until 4 a.m.,” Vanessa recounted. “Six months later, I joined him in St. Louis.”
Perron, a high-scoring player for Lewiston in the QMJHL, was drafted 26th overall by the Blues in 2007, the same year the Ottawa team made their Stanley Cup Final run.
Seventeen years later, Perron, Vanessa, and their expanding family were still settling into Ottawa after Perron signed with the Senators as a free agent on July 1, 2024.
While at home in Sherbrooke, Vanessa was progressing smoothly through her fourth pregnancy when she sensed something was not right. It was mid-August, nearing her seventh month. Her contractions felt slightly “off,” prompting the Perrons to visit the Sherbrooke hospital`s emergency department as a precaution.
“It was clearly a mother’s instinct,” Perron reflected. “A gut feeling.”
The news they received was shocking. Their unborn daughter had a growth outside her right lung, a mass pressing against her heart. If untreated, it could lead to a fatal heart attack. Doctors mentioned in vitro surgery and a possible transfer to a Toronto hospital, followed by another major surgery after birth.
For Perron, it must have felt like a scene from a medical drama where a doctor delivers a grave diagnosis, and your mind races, unable to process the words.
“From that moment, we were thrown into a whirlwind, constantly having to adjust as things unfolded,” Perron described.
Emotions ran high, and tears were shed. Vanessa was “devastated” with worry about the potential risks, Perron shared. They faced the daunting question: what would be the worst outcome? What kind of life would their baby girl have, assuming she survived, possibly with a lung missing or worse?
“At times, we both felt the strain, getting on each other’s nerves, to put it mildly,” he admitted with a laugh.
“I was also trying to manage my own emotions, but keeping it hidden,” Perron said. “I tried to adopt a mindset of focusing on the present day, not dwelling on what might happen in the future. My wife was focused on the bigger picture, while I tried to be like a hockey coach, breaking it down to manageable, immediate concerns.”
An initial step was understanding that fetal surgery was a possibility at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, renowned for its thoracic surgery program.
The specific condition and procedure were identified as: a large, macrocystic congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) of the lung, requiring a fetal thoracoamniotic shunt (TAS) to drain fluid from the cyst, reduce its size, and improve the baby`s chances.
Perron mentioned they were informed that this condition affects approximately one in 10,000 pregnancies and is not hereditary.
The procedure aimed to shrink the mass, giving the fetus a better chance to reach full term. However, it was only a chance, as such interventions often lead to premature birth. With the due date in late October, a premature delivery could bring additional risks to the baby, born two and a half months early.
The Perrons anticipated a short stay of a day or two in Toronto, but Vanessa ended up hospitalized for a week. Following the successful fetal surgery in August, they lived with the constant worry of a potential emergency C-section. They had check-ups two to three times weekly at Ottawa General Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Weeks passed with agonizing slowness, but they did pass.
“One of the small miracles was that the in vitro procedure allowed her to carry the baby to full term,” Perron gratefully shared. “This allowed the baby`s organs to develop more fully. The other lung was healthy, and it was crucial for it to develop as much as possible.”
Vanessa and David chose the name Elizabeth on their way to Mount Sinai for the shunt procedure in August.
“I needed her to be real before risking losing her,” Vanessa explained in a later Instagram post.
After her birth on October 27, baby Elizabeth underwent major surgery at CHEO to remove the mass from her lung. The family was deeply moved by the exceptional care they received. Vanessa recalled her first meeting with a CHEO specialist, where both doctor and mother shared tears.
“I was just standing there,” Perron said. “I was amazed that the doctor was so invested in our case, likely seeing ten or more cases daily.”
Five months later, baby Elizabeth is thriving, healthy and growing stronger. The Perrons are finally feeling settled in Ottawa, enjoying the city’s bilingual culture.
“She’s doing wonderfully,” Perron said of his youngest daughter, sibling to Mason, 9, Victoria, 7, and Sophia, 2. He lightly knocked on the wooden bench in the meeting room across from the Senators’ dressing room.
“I always knock on wood when I say that. But she is completely clear of everything they were monitoring. All tests on the mass and everything she`s been through, including surgery. Just recently, my wife and I noticed her scar is fading more and more.
“Honestly, as days go by, we still can`t believe it,” Perron added. “It feels surreal that after receiving such difficult news in mid-August—requiring an in vitro surgery followed by an emergency surgery at birth—everything has turned out so positively. We feel incredibly lucky and grateful. In recent months, she’s started smiling and interacting with us.”
The Perrons have been assured that Elizabeth will live a normal, active life. Surgeons successfully preserved a significant portion of her affected lung.
“These are exceptional people,” Perron said of the healthcare professionals at CHEO.
Vanessa shared the update on Elizabeth: “She’s our little miracle and already a fighter.”
On the ice
While less dramatic than his personal life, Perron’s first season with Ottawa has had its own set of unexpected turns.
A persistent injury during training camp slowed his start, followed by his absence from the team to be with his wife and family during the prenatal crisis and Elizabeth’s surgery in late October.
Perron returned to the lineup on November 16, playing in four games, all losses, before a back injury sidelined him again. He was finally reactivated on January 23, having played only nine games with no points.
“Joining a new team is challenging, re-establishing yourself in a completely new environment. By the time December, January, and February games were underway, I was still finding my footing hockey-wise,” Perron explained. “It was mentally taxing. I tried to focus on each day, determined to capitalize on my opportunity when it came.”
He felt his early line with Shane Pinto and Mike Amadio was beginning to gain momentum.
However, it was after the March 7 trade deadline, when coach Travis Green formed a line with newly acquired center Dylan Cozens alongside Perron and Drake Batherson, that Perron’s performance surged.
In March, Perron recorded seven goals, three assists, and a plus-7 rating in 15 games, contributing to the Senators winning 10 of those games. The veteran’s presence has noticeably elevated the play of his younger linemates.
“They are all intelligent players,” Green commented on the Cozens-Perron-Batherson line, which has been his most consistent recently.
“When they are at their best, they’ve shown they can be formidable in the offensive zone, protect the puck effectively, and maintain possession in the opponent`s end.”
Now, Perron is being praised as an ideal late-season acquisition, even though he actually signed as a free agent last summer.
