He was a high-marking, history-making Adelaide Crow, booting four goals in the club\u2019s 1991 debut against Hawthorn and earning the nickname \u201cthe president\u201d. <\/p>\n
But at 64, South Australian footy great Bruce Lindner is in the \u201cfight of my life\u201d as he tackles cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recognise that this is the last quarter of my life \u2013 sometimes you win them, sometimes you don\u2019t,\u201d says the Renmark-born dual all-Australian, who also played 66 games for Geelong in the VFL in the 1980s and kicked six goals in West Adelaide\u2019s SANFL premiership victory in 1983.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s when the most important parts of the game are played. When they can provide you with a good outcome or you have a not so good outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January 2024, Lindner was 62 \u2013 \u201cbut I thought I was mid-30s\u201d \u2013 and looking forward to a retirement of long lunches, playing golf, meeting up with friends and travelling overseas with his wife of nearly 32 years, Julie. <\/p>\n
But he woke one morning to find blood in his urine. Tests confirmed his worst fears \u2013 he had an aggressive tumour in his kidney.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d never had to call a doctor back in my life and the reality is it\u2019s never good news,\u201d says the account executive for wholesale distributor Options Wines.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuddenly your world gets turned upside down. And all this (plans for retirement) becomes a distant memory because all that you are trying to do is become healthy again and stay on this planet a little longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, Lindner has written a book, Time on in the Last, which tells the story of his cancer battle and reflects on the highs, lows and lessons of his life.<\/p>\n
He decided he wanted to write the book as a \u201clove letter\u201d to his 21-year-old daughter, Sophie, while he faced his mortality in Ashford Hospital\u2019s recovery room \u2013 tubes and leads strapped all over his body \u2013 after surgery to remove his cancerous kidney.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was lying in my bed and things were looking doom and dark, I thought \u2018Sophie doesn\u2019t really know me\u2019,\u201d says the former footballer, whose time with the Crows was interrupted by injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf things go south \u2026 this will give her an understanding of my life and where she\u2019s come from.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think my life has been able to provide the basis of resilience that has served me well, both in football and in my current predicament. Part of the book is trying to pass on to my daughter the understanding that life\u2019s not a straight line, that you have your highs and lows and you can learn from them and build resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindner \u2013 who played 19 games for the Crows and, before that, was a leading goal kicker during his five seasons with Geelong \u2013 started making daily diary entries for his book as he recovered from his surgery.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, he would write until the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n
But his story took another turn in May 2024, four months after his surgery. Even though he was feeling good and eating well, he found blood in his urine again.<\/p>\n
More tests revealed that his cancer had returned and spread to his bladder and he now needed groundbreaking immunotherapy treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr Google told me there was a 15 to 20 per cent chance of living five years \u2013 that\u2019s a sobering reality check. That\u2019s when I thought \u2018I\u2019ve got to get something positive out of this\u2019,\u201d says Lindner, who decided to use the book to help raise funds for the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group, a research organisation for \u201cbelow-the-belt\u201d cancers.<\/p>\n
Lindner\u2019s book \u2013 which officially launches this Friday and has been called \u201ca three-vote, best-on-ground performance\u201d by Crows legend Tony Modra \u2013 finishes on a knife\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n
In the penultimate chapter, he is sitting with his wife and daughter in his doctor\u2019s rooms, nervously waiting for the verdict from a scan late last year after tests had suggested that the cancer may have spread to his lungs. <\/p>\n
The book then has a QR code that links to a website, where readers can donate money and see his results.<\/p>\n
In the final chapter, Lindner looks forward to \u201cso many more experiences to have and many more people to love\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people ask me how I am, I say my health\u2019s good, it\u2019s basically status quo from my last scan,\u201d says the former footballer, who lives in Unley with corporate affairs and communications specialist Julie and Sophie, a final-year economics student at Adelaide University.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you\u2019re having scans every three months, you get \u2018scanxiety\u2019. Basically, I\u2019m as good as my next scan. The scans so far have seen improvement. But if it metastasises, the percentages are pretty dim of living five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping to have a Cinderella story. I\u2019m hoping I try on the glass slipper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lindner\u2019s book can be purchased at timeoninthelast.com.au and at Dillons bookstore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He was a high-marking, history-making Adelaide Crow, booting four goals in the club\u2019s 1991 debut against Hawthorn 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