Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie has spoken of his pride in still being so strong in Scottish football at the age of 32, having feared his career would end as a teenager.
In an interview with Sky, the Dons captain explained that he didn’t let his battle with Crohn’s disease stop him from pursuing his dream of turning pro.
Shinnie said, “At the age I am now, looking back on everything I’ve accomplished in my career, I’m incredibly grateful because at one point I thought it was all gone.
“To be sitting here now, still captain of Aberdeen, and playing in a highlight both one and both days is a blessing for me and I take the day as it comes. “
The former Caley Thistle captain has yet to manage his condition carefully, but says the procedure is less invasive than it was at the start of his career.
He said: “Some days it’s fine and other days it hits me like a steam train, but it’s about lifting your feet as high as you can.
“I have two kids, so it’s not that easy to stand up because I’m looking to do a lot of things with them.
“But it’s about trying to take care of it as productively as I can in terms of relaxing when I want to, just unplugging and letting my structure recover.
“I self-inject every two weeks, which is a lot less difficult than taking pills every day.
“It’s a self-injecting pen, it’s got a little crimp on top and you just put it on your leg, press the button and you’re good to go.
“It’s a big help in keeping my illness at bay.
“It’s an immunosuppressant that weakens my immune system, so trying to survive the most sensitive illnesses and the flu is difficult, but it’s actually helping me maintain my well-being. “
Shinnie, who was diagnosed with a chronic illness at the age of 12, tried to combat the pain as a teenager with Caley Thistle.
But at the age of 18, the struggle took its toll and forced Shinnie to undergo 11 hours of surgery.
He said: “I had quietly fought my way because I didn’t need to give in as such, but I wanted to bet on football,” he told Sky Sports.
“I wanted to live my life and lived on the back burner with those terrible tummy pains, tiredness and disorders that come with Crohn’s disease.
“We beat Morton in the Scottish Cup and that game was the straw that broke the camel’s back. My parents had come for the game and I went home that night and broke down.
“I couldn’t go on and the pain was too much for me. I had to bathe almost every hour to relieve the pain.
“I went to hospital in Inverness and within a few days I had a big operation, I think it ended up being 11 hours.
“They took part of my intestine, part of my colon and I had 3 abscesses at the time, which I didn’t know about, that needed to be drained. “
At an all-time low, Shinnie’s gambling dreams are in jeopardy.
He said: “Getting out of bed is a huge task, going to the bedroom window, then to the next point and then walking around the room.
“It’s the little goals I set for myself with the doctors around me and the worry of ‘I can’t even walk, how am I going to be able to run, especially like I’m running on the football field?’
“How am I going to get back to this level?” It’s hard to deal with.
“Immediately after my surgery, my fitness was the most important thing, football was never in my head at the time.
“It’s probably a question of whether my career will move forward or not; if you can just go back to where IArray
Gradually, the midfielder was able to return to the Inverness educational flat with Terry Butcher and remains grateful for what he won from his former coach.
He said: “Terry Butcher, my manager, who had a huge influence not only on my football career by giving me the opportunity, but also by being by my side at the time, visiting me every week.
“After I was discharged from the hospital and tried to get my fitness, my body back and everything else, he was with me the whole time telling me ‘there’s a position for you when you come back’.
“Having that by my side is huge to keep going and get back in top physical shape. “
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