Minnesota Hockey Journal

UNSTOPPABLE UNSTOPPABLE Photo / Nikki Gullingsrud THE REMARKABLE STORY OF ALEX GULLINGSRUD, 2023 USA HOCKEY DISABLED ATHLETE OF THE YEAR O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 11 LEX GULLINGSRUD'S first glimpse of sled hockey was a video he saw last fall of a USA vs. Canada Paralympic sled hockey game. He watched closely as the best players in the world propelled themselves across the ice, and he wondered if he'd be able to maneuver as swiftly and effortlessly as they did. His parents asked if he'd like to give it a try. "Are these the people I'd be playing against?" Alex asked. Alex learned he could start playing with a local sled hockey team, and instantly discovered a passion that's helped him nav- igate unthinkable challenges. Less than a year after seeing that first game, Alex Gullingsrud, of Red Lake Falls, was named the 2023 USA Hockey Disabled Athlete of the Year. The award rec- ognizes outstanding perseverance and dedication by a disabled hockey player through demonstrating the ability to overcome obstacles in the pursuit of excellence, both on and off the ice. Alex is the youngest player to ever win the USA Hockey Disabled Athlete of the Year award. "This award isn't about the best technical skills on the ice or who scores the most goals or saves the most shots," said Toni Gillen, Minnesota Diversified Hockey Director to USA Hockey. "It's really about the overall person and what they bring to their team, what they bring to their sport and what they bring to their community." Despite his young age, Alex epitomizes courage and bravery, all while having his sights set on becoming a Paralympian. But just a few years ago, nothing about Alex's future was certain. Hoping for a miracle During the summer of 2021, Alex started complaining of leg pain. Knowing their son was an active 8-year-old who played a lot of basketball and baseball, Alex's parents, Mike and Nikki, thought he might be experiencing growing pains or an overuse injury. They took him to a chiropractor, but after a few weeks, the chi- ropractor recommended X-rays to find the root of the issue. They learned Alex had a mass on his hip and drove from their home in Red Lake Falls, Minn., to Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo for further testing. "We left Sanford in Fargo at about 4 o'clock on a Friday," Nikki said. "A few hours later, by 6 o'clock, Mayo Clinic called and said we needed to be in Rochester by Monday." Alex was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. He had a soft- ball-sized tumor growing inside of his hip and another tumor on one of his lungs. "Within the 45-minute appointment at Mayo, I went from 'just get the tumor out' to 'can they save his leg ?' to, 'we just need to do whatever we have to do to save his life,'" Nikki recalled. That fall, Alex started chemotherapy in Fargo. But by the end of October, they learned it wasn't working, and he underwent major surgery to remove the tumor in his pelvic bone and to amputate his right leg and most of his right hip. After just five days, Alex was up and walking with the help of a walker and crutches. "He's been dealt quite a hand," Nikki said. "Instead of wondering 'why me?' it was 'OK, I'm still here. I'm going to make the most of the time I have and just be thankful and grateful for what I've got.'" Putting up a fight Following his amputation surgery, Alex began a new regimen of chemotherapy to fight the tumor on his lung and also underwent surgery to clean out one of his lungs. A week after the lung sur- gery, his parents went into his oncology appointment in Fargo, hoping for good news. Instead, it turned into their worst nightmare. Nothing was working. The oncologist left the room to give them time to process the news. A few moments later, Mike's phone rang. "It was the Mayo surgeon," Nikki said. "And she was excited like we had never heard the Mayo people excited before. She said, 'You're not going to believe this. We just got the biopsy back. The chemo is working, and everything else in there was just an infection.'" They let out a huge sigh of relief. Alex would just need to finish his current round of chemotherapy. "While talking to one of his surgeons, they just said that his story is the closest thing they've ever seen to a miracle in med- icine," Nikki said. "We told them it was because we had what seemed like everyone in the world praying for him."

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