51黑料网

It was a modest celebration on Saturday afternoon at Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, just the five of them, those who knew most intimately what Craig Cunningham went through in this very hospital just 21 months earlier.

This time around it was a joyous occasion, the culmination of a two-week, 1,646-mile bicycle journey that took Ryan Cunningham from Castlegar, in the West Kootenays region of British Columbia, Canada, and down through Montana and Idaho and Utah and all the way to Tucson.

That鈥檚 hours of twisted roads and twisted wheels, five-mile gulps and 鈥渢ire carcasses.鈥�

Nearly eight months of preparation, and more than $26,000 raised toward his $50,000 goal.

All in the name of the All Heart Foundation, which only formed because, one day, Craig Cunningham鈥檚 failed him.

鈥楲ook what you

did for me鈥�

All Heart, great name.

It鈥檚 what it took Craig Cunningham to make it through a sudden cardiac arrest on the ice just prior to a Tucson Roadrunners game, through hours of terrifying recovery efforts at the hands of Dr. Zain Khalpey, through the loss of part of his left leg, through the hours of painful rehabilitation.

It鈥檚 what it took his older brother, Ryan, to make it through roughly 125 miles a day.

It鈥檚 not as if Ryan Cunningham is a professional cyclist, with a Tour de France on his r茅sum茅 and spoke sponsorships.

He鈥檚 a millerite foreman from a small town in an obscure region of Canada whose brother was a professional hockey player who almost died on the ice, making international news. He had barely ridden a bicycle in more than five years.

This was, as they say, out of his realm of comfort.

鈥淲hen you tell someone you鈥檙e going to do something that is insanely far out of your reach in seven months鈥� time, it鈥檚 not even being cynical to say like, 鈥極K, yeah, maybe you鈥檒l do that. Sure,鈥欌�� Cunningham said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even go public with it until I鈥檇 gone two days in a row of 200 kilometers, and then Craig was like, 鈥榃ow, you鈥檙e really going to do this?鈥欌��

Ryan Cunningham had a goal 鈥� $50,000 to help the All Heart Foundation fund some of its new projects, like a phone app designed to help monitor heart strain 鈥� and, most of all, he wanted to convey to his brother just what an inspiration he鈥檇 been to Ryan and others. Craig Cunningham just finished his first season as a scout for the NHL鈥檚 Coyotes, the Roadrunners鈥� parent club.

鈥淲ith Craig moving forward in a new path of life he has to go down, I wanted to show him that the way he is handling it, the way he鈥檚 coping with it, is helpful to other people,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淗is guts, his spirit, helps other people with their lives. I wanted to do something that was way out of reach for myself, that I鈥檇 have to strive very hard to get to, so that I could show him, 鈥楲ook what you did for me. This is what you do for people.鈥欌��

鈥楩ive-mile gulps鈥�

This all started on a lark, or at least a miscommunication.

Ryan Cunningham had told his friend Erik Laithwaite, a bike shop owner in their hometown, that he wanted to do something to raise money for Craig鈥檚 foundation, and that he was thinking of doing a bicycle marathon. He said he was thinking about somewhere like the midpoint between Castlegar and Tucson.

Erik heard Tucson and said, 鈥淪ure, you can ride there with some training.鈥�

And so Ryan was off.

With the help of his fianc茅, Ellen, and the well-wishes of his co-workers and friends, he began biking a few miles a day, and then more, and more, and more.

In 2010, he鈥檇 purchased a road bike and went on a 50-mile ride. By the time he made it home, he was barely pedaling, 鈥渏ust swaying side-to-side,鈥� he remembers.

But Ryan made it home in one piece. He could handle it.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even consider another way to do something,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 guess the reason for that is based on what Craig went through, what I saw of Dr. Khalpey, watching what he went through, it was automatic. The only way to do justice to what he went through was a massive physical challenge.鈥�

Ryan Cunningham knew he wanted to involve Tucson, where the Roadrunners and their fans have become family.

鈥淔or our whole family, Tucson has become our home away from home,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hile we were worried and scared and upset about what was going on with Craig, we were living here for weeks at a time, and the people of the city were so good to us and supportive of us. The nurses and the physical therapists, the doctors 鈥� everyone in the hospital was good to us. We built relationships with them. The community became important to us.鈥�

After months of planning, Ryan was ready to ride. Ellen had handled most of the logistics, charting the route, making hotel and AirBNB reservations and planning for stops. Ryan took off on Aug. 3, with Ellen driving the support car. Ellen had to alter her plans after her uncle passed away, and so Cunningham鈥檚 stepfather took over driving duties.

The hardest part of the ride, Ryan said, was dealing with 18 flat tires in one day midway through Idaho.

But it was all part of the journey.

鈥淭he way Craig approached his issues head-on was something I really admired, and it was very related to this trip,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淎pproaching a massive journey like his recovery, approaching it like one step at a time, not getting overwhelmed at how far away the ending point was, staying focused on doing as well as you could with that given task at that given moment, that motivated me.

鈥淚 went 2,600 kilometers five miles at a time. Every five miles I would drink water. Five-mile gulps.鈥�

Bond of brothers

There is a certain bond between brothers, even deeper than brotherly love. Particularly when you come from a family touched by tragedy, as the Cunninghams were when their father, Alvin, died in 1996. Craig was 6 years old. Ryan was 7.

Their bond only strengthened with time, even when Craig moved away from home at the age of 16 to pursue his hockey dreams.

When Craig suffered his cardiac arrest and subsequent leg amputation, he wasn鈥檛 the only one affected. It trickled through the family like a bad rumor, leaving a battle scar on each of every one of them.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a tough guy to read, a very unemotional guy,鈥� Craig said of his brother. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 give you a lot off the top. But when I was hurt, I could see the hurt in his eyes. I could tell he was hurting for me. He just encouraged me to push through, to keep it together. We spent long hours in the hospital, talking about different things. What鈥檚 the next step? I came to terms with it pretty quick, what are you going to do now? He helped me through the thinking of poor me to what is the next step in your recovery?鈥�

When Craig鈥檚 hockey dreams died, a little part died in all of his friends and family, everyone back home in Castlegar and Trail, B.C., where every hockey hero is treasured like a precious gem.

鈥淭he biggest thing for probably all of us, all of his friends and family, was that every single one of us knew how much time and commitment he put into his career,鈥� Ryan said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what was hard to see get lost, something he put so much of himself into.鈥�

That explains a little part of this journey, which has reached its final conclusion.

On Saturday, Ryan made it to Banner UMC a little worse for wear, a little tired, and humbled and happy to see his family, including his mother, Heather 鈥� who was at the game the night Craig suffered his cardiac arrest 鈥� and Ellen, who made it to Tucson to surprise Ryan.

There was a quiet celebration, and a simple hug between brothers who knew exactly how much had changed, and how much they still want to change it.

鈥淢aybe eight days in, when my knees and my ass weren鈥檛 completely destroyed, I realized I was going to make it,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淚 had already determined I鈥檇 make it. It wasn鈥檛 like arriving in Tucson was the finality of my success. I got in, I was tired, and the best part was when I realized I didn鈥檛 have to be on a bike anymore.鈥�