Thunderbirds player Michael Bunn, a Raleigh native, is fighting for his life -

Raleigh native Michael Bunn has loved hockey for as long as his lifelong friend Wesley Yarber can remember. He introduced Yarber to the game when they were kids, and the two would play for hours most days.

The combination of competitive fire, love of the game and all that practice turned into a major junior opportunity for the now 25-year-old Bunn. He’d been drafted by the USHL’s Lincoln Stars for the 2012-13 season, but a training camp ACL tear threatened to derail his path — and that injury led to opiate addiction struggles he’d been open about.

Bunn has been in recovery for years, though, attending daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings and enjoying a leadership role on the Winston-Salem based Carolina Thunderbirds of the FPHL in Winston-Salem for the past three seasons. He was the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup MVP, the most popular request for post-game autographs (he always happily obliged), and according to Thunderbirds VP of Finance and Merchandise Shannon Campbell, one of the most coveted merchandise names in team history.

Those familiar with addiction recovery understand the importance of a daily routine. Everyone on Earth right now understands how the COVID-19 pandemic has turned life as we know it — including those daily routines — upside down.

The exact details are unclear, but on April 20, Bunn didn’t show up to work. Police found him in a parking lot in his running car unconscious from carbon monoxide poisoning and took him to a Greensboro hospital where he is being treated for a brain injury.

Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, his mother, Lynn, has not been able to visit him. She’s been able to FaceTime with him some and gets regular updates on his condition, but that’s been difficult because Bunn’s family is not able to be with him in the hospital.

Bunn was placed on a ventilator for two weeks and then it was removed. He has a tracheotomy for breathing, a feeding tube and a long, expensive rehab process ahead of him. Lynn has been providing updates on a Caring Bridge journal, where you are encouraged to leave a comment and send some positive thoughts. Bunn’s site has more than 56,000 views.

“I have never known Michael to be someone to turn down a challenge,” Yarber said, choking up. “If you tell him he can’t do something, he will try to do it.”

The doctors initially told Lynn that Michael may never wake up again, and if he did he could be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. His situation changes frequently, but he has been responsive when Lynn calls in the form of blinks and even puckered lips to “kiss goodbye.” He has squeezed nurses’ hands on command and wiggled his toes. Still, the extent to which he will recover is unknown.

He’s up for the challenge, but he’s going to need some help from the communities he has always poured his soul into — the North Carolina hockey community — and the hockey community at large.

“Michael, his fiancée and her 2-year-old son have made Winston-Salem home,” Yarber said. “He has had several invitations to move up into higher professional leagues. He stayed with the Thunderbirds at the home he created.”

Of course, the community has responded.

The Thunderbirds started selling t-shirts to help ease the family’s medical expenses. They sold out almost immediately — more than 1,000 sold, spanning at least 13 states, according to Campbell.

Yarber and Lynn started a GoFundMe on Wednesday that has amassed nearly $6,000 of the $25,000 goal.

The Thunderbirds are also coordinating a “Miles for Michael” charity event on Saturday, May 23 starting at 8:30 a.m.

(Photo: Courtesy of the Bunn family)

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