Nick Foligno takes a brief leave of absence

The Chicago Blackhawks will be without their captain for tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues. The team released the following statement this morning:

“Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno is taking a brief leave of absence as his daughter undergoes follow-up surgery related to her congenital heart disease (CHD). Nick, nor the Blackhawks, will have any further comment at this time.”

All of us at Blackhawk Up and FanSided wish Milana, Nick, and the entire Foligno family nothing but the best today and hope for a speedy recovery.

Milana, who turned 12 yesterday, was born with an underdeveloped, severely leaking mitral valve and needed surgery to replace it. She was later diagnosed with CHD, which happens when the chambers, walls, or valves of your heart — or the blood vessels near the heart — don’t develop normally before birth.

Since then, Nick and his wife Janelle have been ambassadors for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Their mission has been to spread awareness of CHD and help empower other parents and children fighting the same battle.

Nick and Janelle formed The Hearts Playbook Foundation, which focuses on building stronger communities in heart health and funding heart research. You can purchase Janelle’s children’s book “Dear Heart: A Letter to My Special Heart,” with all the proceeds going towards advancing CHD research.