Miraculous recovery for former North Star

“They took my right scull flap off and they removed the AVM which is a tangle of veins, and they basically just took the skull off to relieve pressure on my brain.”

Following the incident, Fountain was in a coma for 11 days. When he did regain consciousness, he had to relearn how to walk at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Centre in Edmonton.

Fountain said he recently finished his final surgery, a process that has since allowed him to get back to enjoying everyday life.

“On July 3rd, around 6-weeks ago, I had my last surgery done, so they put the skull back on that they had originally taken off,” he said. “The last couple weeks was just letting that heal up, which was a bit of a process, I had to be careful about that.”

Fountain said there have been many people reaching out to him throughout his recovery process, including several people from the Battlefords area that know him from his time spent with the North Stars.

“As far as the community in the Battlefords, they have been really good,” Fountain said. “I’ve had a lot of people who were involved with the North Stars organization, and even some that weren’t, who have reached out.”

In addition to checking in to see how he has been doing, Fountain said several people have also donated money to help his family with the medical bills.

“Many people not only reached out to me but were also kind enough to raise money for me and my family when we were up in the city, to help cover some medical costs.”

Fountain called the support he received unbelievable.

“As far as visitors, people up at the hospital, old teammates, coaches, and even just some fans of the team were checking up on me and it was unbelievable.”

Today, Fountain is not only walking again, but running. Yesterday he completed a full marathon in just over 4 ½ hours.

When asked what inspired him to take on the challenge of running a marathon, Fountain said he thought of the idea while he was still unable to walk.

“I wanted to do something as quick as I possibly could. When I was in the hospital there was a time where I had to just get around in a wheelchair, and I thought once I get up and was walking again, I want to do something.”

Fountain said that as he crossed the Finnish line Thursday it was a moment of reflection on just how far he had come.

“Probably about the last half-a-kilometer I was pretty tired and sore at that point, but it was also pretty emotional too because you just think about where you were a couple months ago,” he said. “You think about everybody that has supported you along the way to get back to being able to do something like [running a marathon]”

Fountains gratitude was evident as he recalled that moment in time.

“Whether it’s family and friends and just everybody who’s been there, it was more of an emotional thing than anything,” Fountain said. “I had to pull it together a little bit at the end, but it was a great feeling,” he said.

Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

Miraculous recovery for former North Star

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