Comments on: Study Links Concussions To Brain Disease
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- I had the good fortune to interview Sylvia Mackey who will be featured in this segement this evening for my book, "Conseuqential Strangers: The Power of People Who Don't Seem to Matter." In the chapter about the importance of people outside family and close friends in the face of an illness such as dimentia, I showed how many consequential strangers now figure in the Mackeys' lives. More recently, I wrote a follow up for More magazine. ******/4jcTl
Thank goodness, someone is finally taking notice and, hopefully, taking steps, to prevent such injuries in the future - Reply to this comment
- I played football for 12 years total, including two years with the SF 49ers in 80 & 81, when I developed hydrocephalus are a result of numerous concussions I sustained during my career. I underwent an emergency brain surgery at Stanford hospital in September of 81 (during the first Super Bowl season), where I had a VP shunt inserted into my brain to drain spinal fluid from my ventricles to my abdomen. The 49ers Drs misdiagnosed my condition during the season, as high blood pressure, till I suffered focal point paralysis of my right arm, and a brain hemorrhage, when I underwent emergency brain surgery. This was kept quite during the season, and I was told they were looking at having a special made helmet produced to protect my shunt so I could still play.
My first shunt failed May of 1982 (just 4 months after we won our first Super Bowl), and I had back to back shunt surgery revisions 12 hrs apart, and was given last rites. I subsequently began receiving hospital bills for the last 2 brain surgeries (the 49ers then claimed my injury was congenital), and had creditors on me till I successfully sued the 49ers for Workers Comp in 1986. Since then, I have had a total of 9 brain surgeries, numerous grand mal seizures, and suffer from major short term memmory deficites and anger management issues, but despite these short comings, I returned to finish a wildlife biology degree in 1990 at the age of 32 after brain surgeries 4th - 7th.
My question is; Are there others like me out there? I just returned from co-chairing a Hydrocephalus awareness walk in Oroville, CA today, where I had Tom Goldman of NPR (National Public Radio) accompany me for 3 days while I conducted motivational, public talks. - Reply to this comment
