Outside the Red Wings dressing room Sunday, Darren shook his head and smiled as he recalled his father's final words, and what they meant. They meant his dad knew it was time. They meant he was thinking of family, of responsibility, not of himself, never of himself. The disease was eating him away from the inside, but he never wanted anyone to feel sorry for him, he never wanted to be a burden. In fact, the last couple of years, I think he enjoyed life more than he ever had.
Some people spend a long time dying.
And some people spend a long time living, right up until the final knock. Craig McCarty's story deserves to be told, and not just because his son is a popular hockey player. There's something here for everyone, including a father fighting cancer alongside a son fighting his own illness, alcoholism. There's grace in the face of the ultimate adversity, good extracted from bad, and the truly remarkable desire to help others even as one's body deteriorates. Now we know where Darren gets his fight, and his spirit.