GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — East Grand Rapids has become a household name when it comes to high school hockey. The Pioneers have played in the D3 state title game for the past two years, but during that time, their head coach’s health took a rapid decline. After a double lung transplant in December, Chris Newton has already made his return to the bench.
“In the spring I was coaching a little bit but it became hard to stand behind the bench for two hours and move around the rink,” said Chris.
Chris has lived with Cystic Fibrosis all his life. It’s a genetic disorder that causes mucus to build up in your lungs, making it difficult to breathe and can lead to other health complications.
After being on the transplant list for just 14 days back in December, he knew what a 3 a.m. phone call meant.
“I looked at the number and I was like ‘no way’. You know what it is. It was a 616 number, it wasn’t blocked. So I saw it and I picked up,” said Chris.
But this wasn’t the first time Chris had ever gotten that kind of call. He received his first lung transplant eight years ago in Metro Detroit while coaching along side his dad, the late Bill Newton, who together led Farmington High School to a state title in 2014.
Later that morning, after the second transplant call. Chris and his wife Jessica dropped their two boys off at school and then went and broke the news to his team before headed to Corewell Hospital. His best friend Grant Newton, was to step in as interim head coach.
“He stood in front of them and it was the most confident I had ever seen him. Like ‘hey guys, I’m going to go do this (surgery) it’s going to be good. Grant is going to be in charge and I’ll be back. And that kind of confidence transfers over to our kids,” said Grant. “They’re smart enough to understand the situation and how serious it is but at the same time, they were just confident because he was,”.
Chris had a successful double lung transplant for the second time in a decade on December 10th and just days before Christmas, was able to be home to see his boys open their gifts. Not too long after that on January 6th, he was back at practice.
“I thought the transition was very quick, I didn’t think he’d be able to (come back that quickly). Seeing him already screaming on the bench, I was looking back like ‘are you okay’,” said Bennett Winkel.
“Breathing wise I already tripled my lung capacity from where I started to where I am now. Doing all the daily activities, skating, picking my kids up, doing stuff around the house,” said Chris.
He is still taking it easy being only seven weeks post op. Chris wears a mask and avoids large crowds in hopes of not getting sick with his new lungs. But he knew he couldn’t stay away from the bench. A place where he feels the most comfortable.
“I wanted to be here. You know this was a big motivator for me of why I keep going. It’s to be with the team and coach and do these kinds of things. And that’s a big driver for me,” said Chris.
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