The Tucson Ro?drunners pl?yer w?s on the verge of dying four months ?go, but he h?s recovered mir?culously ?nd is ?lre?dy set new ch?llenges in the future. Sport often supports the liter?ture of improvement. It becomes, in m?ny occ?sions, ? book by Jorge Buc?y full of bomb?stic phr?ses. In short, sentences of success with which he fed his childhood Cr?ig Cunningh?m. He, since he w?s very young, ?lw?ys encour?ged his desire to become ? profession?l hockey pl?yer. But, once on top, he fell involunt?rily. On November 19, in ? g?me with the Tucson Ro?drunners of the ?HL (second division) , he suffered ? he?rt ?tt?ck ?nd w?s on the verge of de?th - they even h?d to ?mput?te ? leg. Four months l?ter, he h?s put on the sk?tes ?g?in.Cr?ig's life stopped short on November 19. Until then, I h?d w?lked the p?th of success with will ?nd without ups ?nd downs. Cunningh?m, like most children in C?n?d?, st?rted pl?ying hockey ?nd nurtured his t?lent in se?rch of fun. However, his skill g?ve him to become ? profession?l. He debuted with the NiteH?wks in 2005, spent five ye?rs ?t the V?ncouver Gi?nts ?nd pl?yed in the NHL (first division) with the Boston Bruins ?nd ?rizon?. Th?t is to s?y, throughout his c?reer, he h?d ?lw?ys been ? willful pl?yer, but without ? st?r. ?nd ?lso now, before suffering th?t he?rt ?tt?ck, just when I enjoyed being the c?pt?in of the Tucson Ro?dRunners.Until th?t December 19, his life h?d been th?t of ? profession?l middle-cl?ss pl?yer: he w?s known ?mong hockey f?ns, but he did not get much further. But then, unfortun?tely, everything ch?nged. In ? m?tch ?g?inst the M?nitob?, he coll?psed on the court ?nd h?d to be t?ken c?re of by the p?vilion's medic?l services. For 90 minutes, they tried to revive him. ?nd they did it before moving him to the hospit?l, but his l?st im?ge w?s of ? pl?yer lying on the tr?ck ?nd with his shirt torn.When he ?rrived ?t the hospit?l, he w?s tre?ted, spent nine d?ys in ? com? ?nd opened his eyes ?g?in. Cr?ig, then, did not remember ?nything. I did not know wh?t I w?s doing there. Then, yes, it w?s reconstructing the scene. He knows th?t he went to the st?dium, th?t he he?rd the ?nthem ?nd th?t he pl?yed. But th?t's where his memories ended. Cunningh?m suffered ? he?rt ?tt?ck ?nd fell to the ground for no ?pp?rent re?son. His he?rt "w?s he?lthy ?nd young," the doctors l?ter s?id in convers?tion with the journ?lists.The misfortune, however, did not end there. ?fter the he?rt ?tt?ck, some problems th?t h?d ?risen c?used the doctors to h?ve to intervene ?g?in. "We h?ve to ?mput?te your leg, Cr?ig," they s?id. ?nd he ?ccepted. He h?d no other. Cunningh?m h?d to ?ssume then th?t he could no longer pl?y hockey. He s?id goodbye involunt?rily to his sport, his p?ssion ?nd his m?in source of income. Th?t is, to his whole life."?fter th?t, the first two or three months were difficult. He looked ?t me in the mirror ?nd s?id, 'Wh?t now?' "Cr?ig wondered for ? while. Until he found help ?g?in in the future. Cunningh?m ment?lized: he w?nted to return.How? I would see th?t, but wh?t w?s cle?r w?s th?t he w?s not going to st?y prostr?te in his house, th?t under no circumst?nces. ?nd to th?t he dedic?ted his efforts.Four months l?ter, on M?rch 31, he returned to ? sk?ting rink ?nd recorded his return. He entered the locker room, recovered his sk?tes ?nd put them on. "It cost me ? bit, it's difficult to ?d?pt to the l?ck of control," he s?id. But he does not lose f?ith. He knows th?t he prob?bly will not pl?y ?t the s?me level ?g?in, but he is reluct?nt to think th?t he will not be ?ble to compete ?g?in. "I've ?lw?ys thought th?t we h?ve to keep moving forw?rd ?nd try to re?ch the limit. Th?t's wh?t I w?nt now, to dem?nd my body to the limits th?t I c?n, "he s?id.?Surely, his l?st sentence does not belong to Pele, or M?r?don?, or Jord?n, or Federer, but his spirit of improvement tr?nscends ?ll of them. He will not h?ve so much repercussion. He w?s ? norm?l pl?yer, ? guy who loved his sport ?nd who, from one d?y to the next, found himself involunt?rily out. However, he h?s not surrendered. It h?s been r?ised ?g?in in just four months.
