WATCH ABOVE: Saturday marked the second annual Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Tournament. The event raises money for local research, particularly in the area of heart disease. It’s a cause that’s near and dear to the Boyd family after the 16-year-old died from an undiagnosed heart condition two years ago. Julia Wong reports.
HALIFAX – It has been two years since the unexpected passing of Jordan Boyd, but his family still feels the weight of his loss.
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Jordan was only 16 when he collapsed during a hockey training camp. It was later determined he had an undiagnosed heart condition.
On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered for the second annual Jordan Boyd Celebrity Hockey Challenge at the BMO Centre in Bedford.
Steve Boyd, Jordan’s father, describes the event as bittersweet.
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“It’s very nice to see the support, the celebration of Jordan’s life most importantly, and the community,” he said. “On the other hand, obviously we wish we didn’t have to do this.”
Steve said the pain of losing his son is still persistent.
“It’s very, very difficult. Obviously we’re completely devastated by the loss of Jordan. He was a great young man. He loved life and enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.
Greg Dobson, Jordan’s brother, continues to feel the loss.
“It’s something that never goes away. You wake up some days and you still feel as though they’re still there,” he said.
About 100 amateur and professional hockey players strapped on their skates for the full-day tournament.
The tournament serves as a fundraiser for the QE2 Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. This year’s event has raised more than $120,000 for local research. The family said they wanted to turn their grief into something positive for the community and create more awareness about heart health.
“We’re trying to raise awareness of inherited heart disease and encourage high-performance athletes and their parents to consider cardiac screening as a method perhaps to avoid the same thing happening to them,” Steve said.
“Jordan was, we thought, in the best condition ever of his life. It just shows that there are things that can be hidden and undetected that obviously have tragic consequences.”
“I feel as though Jordan left us with a responsibility to inform people about what risks are out there,” Dobson said.
Steve said he thinks his son would be proud of the event.
“Jordan always had a smile on his face. He’d be walking around today with a huge smile thinking ‘This is awesome’,” he said.
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