Craig Cunningham lies in his hospital bed at Banner-University Medical Center on Monday night facing an uncertain future, staring up at the fire alarm high above his bed.

He nods toward it.

“The only thing I remember from being sick was that fire alarm right there,” says the 26-year-old Tucson Roadrunners team captain, hooked to a heart monitor, wires tangled in every direction. “I thought it was a spaceship or something.”

He is surrounded by family and friends. Cunningham is quiet but attentive. Beeps break up the silence.

Cunningham says he is thankful for their presence and, in his words, “extremely lucky that I’m still here today.”

The next step in this arduous journey — which began back on Nov. 19, when Cunningham suffered a heart attack just before the opening faceoff of a matchup with the visiting Manitoba Moose — is expected to happen this week. Barring setbacks, Cunningham will be released from UMC to a local rehabilitation center.

As they have for a month, his teammates and even a few opposing players have stopped by, all just hoping to catch a glimpse of the guy they call “Craiger.”

“It’s been tough, man,” Cunningham told the Star in his first interview since collapsing on the Tucson Arena ice. “I’m just trying to take it day-by-day. I don’t really know what’s next or what’s in my future, but I’m extremely happy to be alive.”

And so is the doctor who helped save him.

‘He’s not going to make it’

Dr. Zain Khalpey got the phone call right about 7:45 p.m. on that Saturday night.