Arianna “Ari” Dougan, the bright-eyed, 11-year-old with the rainbow fur coat, has become a St. Louis hockey fan favorite because of her friendship with the Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko—or “Vladi,” as she calls him.
Dougan and Tarasenko met at a Hockey Fights Cancer event in 2015 and reconnected at the same event in 2016. In February, Tarasenko surprised Dougan for her birthday with a two-game road trip with the Blues.
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“We received a text asking if Ari could fly on a plane,” says Lori Zucker, Dougan’s mom. The next text asked if they were available on certain dates. Zucker knew something was up, but didn’t know the details until the next morning.
“I wasn’t really sure what to think,” Dougan says of the locker room surprise. “But the trip was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on, and I have been on a plane at least 100 times.”
Dougan was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma when she was three years old and has traveled to New York, Philadelphia, and Houston for treatments. On Thursday, she starts her fourteenth round of chemo for this year’s protocol.
“When we started in April last year, they told us they wanted to do 14 or 15 rounds. I couldn’t even fathom it, but here we are,” says Zucker.
Dougan has made friends with the doctors and nurses at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. The receptionist even comes and eats her lunch in Dougan’s room. “Ari has been doing this since she was three. She doesn’t know any other life. She tells them jokes and brings them treats,” Zucker says of Dougan’s relationship with the hospital staff.
“I love to bake,” says Dougan. “I go to the clinic a lot, and I never go without treats.”
Dougan especially loves baking for the Blues and Cardinals teams. She wanted to bake something for each flight on the road trip, but her mom convinced her that two treats would be enough.
“It’s one thing she can do even when she doesn’t feel well,” says Zucker. “It’s her way of giving back to the people who take care of her.”
She’s even named one of her treats after her: the Ari Bar, a seven-layer bar with white chocolate and cranberries. “She made them for the team, and Vladi wanted her to make more of them,” says Zucker.
Dougan tells me that being able to give the team treats on the plane was one of her favorite parts of the trip. Well, that and “being able to play cards with Vladi.”
“I’ve always loved going to the games, but now I’m completely a Blues fan,” says Dougan.
When asked what she likes about hockey, she quickly responds, “everything.” She says the games are especially enjoyable to watch now that she knows all the players from the trip. In Colorado, Dougan was able to watch practice from the penalty box. “Everyone was beating on the glass when they went by,” she says. “And we had to walk on the ice to get to the penalty box.”
In Arizona, Dougan visited Dave & Busters, where she won two giant emoji pillows. She hid one of the pillows as a surprise for Tarasenko. “I wrote thank you on the back of it and gave it to Vladi on the way home,” she says.
The larger-than-life smile on the emoji pillow matches that of Dougan. “She doesn’t let cancer get her down,” says Zucker. “She’ll never talk about not feeling good. She refuses to be unhappy.”
Dougan’s chemo round will end on Tuesday, and she hopes to make it to Wednesday’s playoff game.
“Are they going to win?” I ask.
“Yes, definitely,” Dougan says.
“I think you’re their good luck charm.”
“Definitely,” she says with a smile.
The St. Louis Blues will be selling ‘Fight like Arianna, always with a smile’ bracelets during the playoffs. Proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation.
