Alex Pietrangelo explains 9-game absence from Golden Knights

Alex Pietrangelo tried not to get emotional.

The Golden Knights defenseman, standing at his locker stall at City National Arena, tried his best to explain his nine-game absence for personal reasons over the course of a three-minute answer Saturday. His voice was low and serious at times, hopeful and excited at others.

The various feelings his statement contained mirrored the roller-coaster ride Pietrangelo and his family have been on the past three weeks. He said his 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn, contracted the flu around Thanksgiving. That later led to encephalitis, a brain condition that, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, can have various symptoms and “requires prompt treatment to lower the risk of lasting complications or death.”

Evelyn’s health has improved to the point where she’s home and expected to make a full recovery. Pietrangelo felt comfortable enough with how she’s doing to rejoin the Knights on Saturday after a harrowing three weeks. He was expected to play Saturday against the New York Islanders at T-Mobile Arena.

“It’s a miracle how much she’s come along the last 48 hours,” Pietrangelo said. “I can’t believe how resilient she’s been over the last few days.”

Encephalitis can have various effects.

Pietrangelo said Evelyn had lesions on her brain and lost all motor skills. She couldn’t eat, walk or talk. He said she couldn’t even open her eyes for the first five days.

MRIs and other tests were done to determine the exact issue. Pietrangelo and his wife, Jayne, rotated late nights and early mornings at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, trading off so their three other children — Evelyn is a triplet, and the couple also has 2-year-old daughter Julia Grace — were taken care of.

Pietrangelo said after about a week of treatment, Evelyn’s lesions were gone. She came home three days ago. She tried walking Thursday even though the family didn’t know if that was going to happen for months. On Friday, she walked around the entire day and even tried getting on a scooter in the house.

“These are all things we did not expect to happen,” Pietrangelo said. “We prayed that it would. We stayed optimistic, but it’s hard.”

Pietrangelo, with Evelyn’s condition improving, felt ready to go back to work.

He said it would have been impossible to play when things were less stable. He said he would have missed an entire season if that’s how long it took to be comfortable with his daughter’s health.

Pietrangelo said the Knights were “unbelievable” in supporting him. He skated between hospital visits and caring for his other kids. He watched games when he could. He received messages from teammates every day, so many he couldn’t respond to all of them. Pietrangelo often sent one message or video back that could be shared around the locker room.

He’s now back with the group full time, other than the occasional practice day he will need to take off to care for Evelyn. She still has months of recovery, but her early progress has the family optimistic.

“With the pace that she’s going at, hopefully it’s quicker rather than later,” Pietrangelo said. “She’ll get back to where we want her to be. It’s not going to be easy for her or us, but she’ll get there.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.