No drinking, still praying

A turning point in his struggles came at a hospital in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1980. Sanderson had suffered an alcoholic blackout and woke up to a hospital aide at his bedside.

“He asked how bad I was,’’ Sanderson told Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. “I told him, ‘If I drink, I puke the booze right out. I black out. I’m subject to seizures.’ And he says to me, ‘OK, on your knees and pray.’

“And that was it. I spent the next half-hour on my knees, praying to God. No formal prayer or anything, just, ‘God, help me. I don’t deserve to live, but if you can, please . . . help me.’

“A half an hour later, I was back on the bed and the DTs never came. From that day on, I got better. I haven’t had a drink since, and I haven’t stopped praying.’’

Sanderson is the author of the new book, “Crossing the Line: The Outrageous Story of a Hockey Original.’’

Might be worth a read ...