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NLEX team manager Ronald Dulatre assured the Inquirer that cager Macmac Cardona is well on the way to recovery.
“Although he still cannot accept visitors, Macmac can now talk and walk. He was transferred midnight of Monday from Perpetual Help Hospital to the Makati Medical Center, one of the companies under the Manny V. Pangilinan group,” Dulatre said. “The management will continue to provide whatever assistance he may need during his recovery.”
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Cardona was found stark naked and unconscious in his house by Parañaque councilor Binky Favis, a good friend of Cardona, who helped the former pro during his campaign in the last elections.
The cager had apparently overdosed.
Cardona had a fight with his girlfriend Bianca that drove him to deep despair and depression because she would not reconcile with him. They have two children.
Had Favis not arrived in time to take him to the hospital, Cardona could have died and his sister Rowena would have been left without family.
The Cardona siblings are orphans.
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Alaska’s Fil-Am cager Tony dela Cruz had a story to tell when he guested at Sports IQ, the Inquirer’s new omni-platform live sports talk show, recently.
He revealed a closely kept secret to hosts Francis Ochoa and Celest Colina about himself: He was also driven to depression for some unknown reason years ago.
He could not understand what was causing the symptoms because his family life was okay and he was in the peak of his career. He pushed himself to consult a psychologist who identified his condition as clinical depression.
Cardona was diagnosed years ago as having bipolar disease or manic depression.
Dela Cruz said many PBA cagers could be suffering from psychological issues but they do not realize it. He went through therapy and got better. Helping fellow cagers with the same problems has become his advocacy.