The final four months of the life of hockey icon Ron Duguay were ‘like a roller coaster,’ his daughter, Shay Thomas, has revealed to the Daily Mail in her first interview since the death of the former New York Rangers star.
Duguay opened up about his battle with colon and liver cancer in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail in late February – revealing the extent of his fight, the treatments he dealt with and the mounting costs that led to Thomas starting a GoFundMe to help support him – despite initial hesitations.
Duguay died from the disease on October 22, surrounded by friends and family, including his longtime partner and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
The previous months saw Duguay suffer serious injuries, including lost teeth and internal bleeding from a fall, as more expensive treatments brought faint hope.
In that time, Thomas said her father felt burned by the team that he still remained loyal to, saying he felt a lack of support from the Rangers as he battled cancer. An opportunity to right that wrong didn’t come before his passing.
But a trip to his native Canada in his last month of life proved to be a final blessing for Thomas, who said the real miracle was being able to be by her father’s side in his last moments.
The daughter of the late NHL great Ron Duguay opened up about his final days before his death
Duguay died while surrounded by family and loved ones, including Sarah Palin (top center)
Shay Thomas spoke to the Daily Mail about her father’s fight with cancer and his final moments
When he spoke to the Daily Mail in February, Duguay admitted it was hard for him to accept the kindness of others when his daughter started the GoFundMe, but his eventual change in mindset gave him space to focus on his recovery.
‘Now, my mindset is, “OK, I’m gonna accept this,” because this has been lingering on too long,’ Duguay told the Daily Mail. ‘And I need to get better quickly so I can go back to doing what I was doing before, and I’m gonna do a lot more of it now.’
But by July, the fight was getting harder. Duguay suffered a fall at his home in Florida that led to him losing teeth. The incident also led to internal bleeding caused by a condition called portal hypertensive gastropathy, a complication where blood flow to the liver is compromised due to cirrhosis.
Due to the advanced stage of his liver cancer, Duguay was never a candidate for a transplant. But his decreased liver function led to his oncologists trying an experimental medication that cost nearly $100,000 for four doses.
Throughout it all, Thomas said Duguay ‘never stopped fighting’ and that the experimental drugs ‘brought my dad back’ in some ways: ‘Even when things got worse, he was still looking forward to the next treatment and holding on to hope,’ she told the Mail. ‘He had so much more life he wanted to live.’
But his condition got worse, leading those closest to him to travel to be by his bedside in his final days: Thomas, her siblings Amber, Sarah and Noah, Duguay’s ex-wife Robin and Palin.
‘She flew out right away, she was there the whole entire time,’ Thomas said of the former governor of Alaska, who was in a long-distance relationship with Duguay.
‘She actually didn’t even leave his room. She slept there. It was two weeks that we were there, Sarah did not leave his side the whole time.’
Sarah Palin (second from right) ‘did not leave’ Duguay’s side, said Thomas (far right)
Duguay and Palin were in a long-term, long-distance relationship for many years
Thomas said Duguay and Palin are private people
When the Mail last spoke to Duguay and Thomas, they were hesitant to share much detail about Palin’s role in his life. Now, Thomas said she’s making people aware of the efforts of the former governor because ‘it’s important that people know Sarah’s role in everything because she’s earned that.’
Thomas added: ‘As my dad got sick, he felt like he couldn’t take care of her, which was sad. When you’re sick and you’re used to being this professional athlete, my dad just had a really hard time with guilt… like he wanted to be more for her.
‘We are forever grateful for Sarah and everything that she’s done, and I made sure to let her know how much my dad loved her and how much he appreciated her, cause he did. She’s loyal and we love her and we consider her family.’
As for the previous secrecy, Thomas said the two are very private people, adding: ‘I’m only speaking on this because I want people to know the truth of their relationship and the love that they did share and her loyalty.’
Duguay felt protective of Palin, Thomas said, but couldn’t look after her in his final months
The New York Rangers icon from the 1970s and ’80s had battled cancer for nearly a year
Palin was with the family at Madison Square Garden in late October, where the Rangers honored him in a ceremony. Thomas, Palin and others in Duguay’s family stood on the ice for a tribute to one of the most beloved Blueshirts in the organization’s history.
But Duguay had told the Daily Mail through Thomas in March that he was ‘very disappointed’ with the organization over a lack of work or even support or acknowledgement while he was fighting cancer.
Thomas says that did not change in the months leading up to his death: ‘My dad was very hurt. He was very loyal to the Rangers, even after he felt like they didn’t really give him the time of day.
‘When they reached out to us and we had that conversation about them wanting to honor him, we felt that’s something my dad would have wanted because even at the end, he was still loyal.’
Even though Thomas and her family were ‘grateful’ for the tribute, she said: ‘I’m not going to say that it didn’t hurt me that he couldn’t have been around to see that support himself, because I know that always hurt him.
Duguay was honored by the Rangers during a ceremony at Madison Square Garden
Thomas said she wished her dad had been alive to see the tribute the Rangers made to him after he died
‘But we were beyond grateful that happened, that the Rangers did that – being able to stand on the ice at Madison Square Garden and watching that tribute of my dad. My dad had a deep connection with New York and the Rangers, so it just meant so much to our family to see him being honored.’
Thomas says the NHL Alumni Association was particularly helpful during and after Duguay’s fight with the disease, saying the organization had offered to cover medical bills and even the cost of cremation: ‘They definitely are doing so much and we’re so grateful for them.’
In early October, he experienced a brief regression of his cancer. While his liver was still struggling, Thomas said that he expected the organ to begin recovering and he made a final trip up north to his native Sudbury, Canada.
It was a necessary journey for Duguay. Back in August, when he was at one of his sickest points, his mother Anita died at the age of 97. Due to his condition at the time, he was unable to travel to be with her.
So, just three weeks before he died, he returned home. ‘He was too sick to be there before she died, so he went there for her funeral,’ Thomas said.
The trip was a healing one. Not only did he say goodbye to his mother, but Duguay was honored by his hometown major junior hockey team, the Sudbury Wolves.
Before he died, Duguay spent time in his native Canada
Thomas said that biggest blessing was that Duguay got to spend more time with his family
Shay (right), Duguay (center) and Amber (left) snap a photo during his treatment
Duguay’s number hangs in the rafters at the Sudbury Community Arena and fans applauded him when he returned. The team also took up a collection to help with his treatments.
He returned to his home in Florida, but his health declined ‘so fast,’ according to Thomas. Duguay was transported across the country to California, where he had been receiving treatment, and died 20 days after the Wolves honored him.
In searching for the answers in the weeks after her father’s death, Thomas has found comfort in the time she was able to share with Duguay.
‘These last two years was the most time that we’ve really had with my dad. I feel like that was honestly one of the biggest blessings of it all.’
