The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/11/06 Craig Heyward was the NFL's version of a battering ram, one who preferred to run over defenders rather than around them.
But a recurring brain tumor has left the once-powerful man, who was hailed as "Ironhead" during an 11-year NFL career, fighting for his life at Emory Hospital.
Heyward, 39, will undergo surgery Monday following the recent news that a tumor — called a chordoma — had returned. The rare, slow-growing tumors tend to recur, sometimes more aggressively, after their initial removal.
The news was the latest setback for Heyward, a former Pro Bowl running back with the Falcons who was first diagnosed with the chordoma while playing with the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. His three sons were with him Friday when word came of the surgery needed to reduce the pressure on his brain and keep him alive.
"He's just scared," said his ex-wife, Charlotte Blackwell. "He keeps telling his sons how much he loves them."
The five-year survival rate for patients with chordomas is 50 percent, said Dr. Chris Krubert, of the Apollo MD Physician Services of Atlanta; odds drop to 35 percent after 10 years.
"It's a poor prognosis, once diagnosed," he said.
"At first, I was depressed and wondering, 'Why me?,' " Heyward said recently. "I was like 'Why me? Why me? Why me?'
"But then I realized that didn't do any good. It just happens. I came to the realization that some things are the work of the devil. I just need to move on. The quicker you move on, the quicker you heal."
Heyward was blind in one eye and in need of a wheelchair when an MRI last week confirmed the chordoma's return.
He had been clinging to hope he would be able to walk onto the football field with his oldest son, Cameron, on Senior Night at Peachtree Ridge High School in Duluth this fall.
News of his plight had been slow to reach former teammates and coaches, but all were taken aback by the news.
"You just don't think of things like this happening to a guy his age and as athletic with that kind of strength," said Jim Mora Sr., who drafted Heyward while with the Saints and later coached him with the Colts. "It's a shame; it's a tragedy. Hopefully, he'll be able to get better and get through this."
Heyward's treatment following his first diagnosis included a 13-hour surgery to remove as much as possible of the non-cancerous mass, followed by two grueling months of powerful radiation treatments, two hours a day, five days a week.
Heyward played for five teams during his career, enjoying his only Pro Bowl season with the Falcons in 1995 after rushing for 1,093 yards and six touchdowns. In 145 career games, he totaled 4,286 yards and 30 touchdowns.
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