While the excitement for the brand new season was building up to unprecedented levels this summer, I was alerted to a truly remarkable story, which serves as a constant reminder of the preciousness of life.
The journey that Travis Munn has been on over the last few months is one that has pushed him to the very limits of human courage, bravery and strength.
Diagnosed with the degenerative disease Scleroderma in 2016, the former Mansfield Town and Boston United defender was later presented with the crushing news that his condition had become terminal.
“It just hits you like a ton of bricks, it is absolutely impossible to process” said Munn.
“I sat there and asked how long I had left. The doctor said ‘it is impossible to say whether it will be as little as three months or as long as three years’.
“How do you break that to your family? How do you tell your parents or your partner that you won’t be here for much longer?
Coming through the ranks at Mansfield, Munn soon earned a reputation as an all energy defender, capable of competing with the very best.
However, it was after dipping his toes into Non-League football with Boston United that he started to pick up on a number of concerning signs.
“I had always been blessed with a good level of fitness, which had been my biggest attribute as a player” added Munn.
“All of a sudden I was the least fit player at the club. I couldn’t understand it. I was doing extra sessions but I would wake up the next morning in absolute bits. I would be tearing up and thinking that I couldn’t carry on with it.
“I spoke with my dad and he was asking me ‘why is it that you can’t do your running anymore?’ He was asking if I was having troubles in my personal life or whether I was getting into alcohol.
“Even my manager started to wonder if I was taking drugs. It was becoming unbearable and it was at that point that I needed to find out why I was feeling like this”.
As the devastating disease took its hold, Munn was forced to put aside any thoughts of football and come to terms with the unthinkable prospect of leaving behind his young family.
However, one evening as he sat at home, a speculative search of the internet presented the former Boston defender with a potential miracle.
He said, “I was just on the computer when a story came up about someone who had, had a stem cell transplant.
“What they do is they blast you with the most amount chemotherapy that you can possibly have until you are basically at death’s door.
“They then put the stem cells back and hopefully it works. It is hugely risky and there is a very real chance that you might die during the treatment.
“I kind of said goodbye to people because I thought to myself if it somehow works then great but I would rather die trying to do something about this than just lying there and letting it kill me, which it was.
“That was about seven months ago and to have come out of the other side is incredible. Just thinking about it brings a tear to my eye”.
Having left hospital just before the turn of the year, Munn has undergone a truly remarkable return to strength and after battling against all the odds, he made an extraordinary return to football this pre-season with East Midland Counties League side Borrowash Victoria.
“I simply can’t describe what I was feeling when I stepped back onto the pitch” said the inspirational defender.
“I managed to play for 80 minutes in the first game, my whole family was there and when I came off my mum was crying, that nearly got me going but I just about managed to hold it together.
“To have been in a position where just a short time ago my next step was death, I have learned to cherish every single moment that I get.
So, as we all attend another round of tantalising fixtures this week, win, lose or draw, let’s just be thankful for all that life has to offer.
