Holy Ghost Prep senior gets back on ice after surgery

Most athletes have had to overcome some obstacle to get where they are. But not all obstacles are the same and not all are easy to climb.

Kyle Massari of Bucks County has played hockey his entire life.

The senior from Holy Ghost Prep, the defending state champs, was getting ready for the upcoming season when he noticed something wasn't right.

"They said there was a tumor on his spine right around his neck. It was like time stood still. You were just devastated," Coach Gump Whiteside said.

Doctors needed two days of surgery, each seven hours, to remove the non-cancerous tumor in Kyle's spine and that was just the beginning of a long road back to the ice.

"After surgery, for the first two or three days, I couldn't move or feel my legs. My mom didn't think I would be able to ever walk again, actually," Kyle said.

"He couldn't even get out of bed. They had to teach him how to roll out of bed. They had to help him do normal functions that you normally take for granted," Kyle's father Matt Massari said.

One month later, Kyle walked out of the hospital.

While he was in the hospital, Kyle set a goal to get back on the ice with him for Senior Night.

At the end of February, with two rods and ten screws in his neck, not only did he reach that goal, he scored one.

"The place was packed. The moment he stepped on the ice. Everybody was cheering. I really can't describe it. It was unreal," his father Matt said. "And then to score a goal and see his whole team run in the corner and hug him. I'm teared up now. It brought tears to everybody's eyes. You looked around, everybody was crying. Dad should be a hero, but he's my hero."