CANCER SURVIVOR Dravecky accepts his fate

The former Youngstown State standout is now a motivational speaker.
By TARA SULLIVAN
THE RECORD (BERGEN COUNTY, N.J.)
MORRISTOWN, N.J. -- Dave Dravecky is holding this baseball card for at least 15 minutes now, using the statistics on the back of his own photo as a tour through his life story.
Suddenly, he grabs the card in his teeth and pulls down on it with his right hand, tearing it in half.
"If my card looks like this now, then who am I," he asks a hushed auditorium filled with about 250 people.
This is the question that has dominated Dravecky's life since June 18, 1991, the day doctors were forced to amputate his left arm and shoulder because of repeated recurrences of cancer. That same left arm used to define Dravecky's life -- it was the one he rode all the way to the major leagues.
An All-Star pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, Dravecky, from Boardman and Youngstown State University, was on the cusp of establishing himself as one of the best starting pitchers of his generation until the insidious C-word forced him to give up the only career he ever dreamed about since childhood. Standing last week in front of a packed Morristown Memorial Hospital auditorium, Dravecky shared his journey of success, despair, recovery, faith and, ultimately, acceptance.
Traveled a long road
Working now as a motivational speaker as well as the founder of a ministry called "Outreach of Hope" with his wife, Jan, Dravecky has traveled a long road since the original cancer diagnosis in September of 1988. Doctors told him anything short of a miracle meant the end of his career following his initial surgery Oct. 7, 1988, but Dravecky found his miracle. Back on the mound Aug. 10, 1989, he threw 93 pitches to lead the Giants to a victory over the Reds.
But five days later the nightmare returned. As soon as Dravecky let go of a sixth-inning fastball to Expos star Tim Raines, his arm snapped. The crack was heard throughout Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Mouths dropped in horror as Dravecky dropped to the ground, clutching his arm and writhing in pain. He was carted off on a stretcher, his career now really over, his life forever changed.
"There are many parallels between baseball and life -- we all know there are times you have to sit on the bench and wait your turn," he said. "In baseball, there are two white lines and in between, we have to follow rules. As a pitcher, you can imagine the amount of control I had.
"Fast-forward to the day I heard the word cancer. This world that had control, had structure and had rules, had changed. There were no lines. I didn't know how many outs there were. I didn't know how many innings there would be. And the scariest part of all, I didn't know if I was going to win or lose."
He won -- he's been cancer-free for 13 years -- but not without the struggle chronicled in the nearly dozen books he's written about his life and faith.
"That day [in Montreal], I believe there was something bigger than baseball going on in my life," he said. "I think baseball was a steppingstone to something more important."
Moving on
Dravecky can speak his hopeful words now. But then? He didn't know what life had in store. He thought about dying. He worried about a man out there waiting to take his place as a husband and father. He struggled with his identity. He fell into a depression. He had more surgeries. He suffered with a 10-month staph infection. He lost his arm. He prayed.
He moved on.
"I think there's a very important message in understanding the value of life and the perspective that comes when one faces adversity, realizing what things matter most," the 48-year-old said. "It's not what you do that matters most, but who you are. We place our value in so many things. When you're diagnosed with cancer, those are stripped away. The question left is, do I still have value?"
Dravecky's personal U-turn proved to himself that he does, and his message of recovery is what he hopes to share with cancer survivors around the country.
He talks about the joy he finds in his wife and two children, 22-year-old Tiffany and 19-year-old J.D. In December, Tiffany will become the first-ever member of the Dravecky clan to graduate college, and next year, she is getting married. J.D. is also in college, and plays baseball.
Their dad may be forced to tuck one empty sleeve of his button-down shirt inside itself, but he still finds enjoyment in skiing, golfing and taking walks on the beach.
"I didn't used to be able to say this, but now I can," he said. "Cancer has been a blessing in Dave Dravecky's life."