Ryan Freel Committed Suicide

[Sammy Sofa]

Though much more seriously: 10 concussions? Holy [expletive]. That's horrible.

[jersey cubs fan]

Every time I hear about guys with a countable list of concussions I try and remember how many I've had. Definitely had one knock out concussion in football, another in wresting and while snowboarding. I'm going to assume I've had another at some point and go with 4.

[Banedon]

Every time I hear about guys with a countable list of concussions I try and remember how many I've had. Definitely had one knock out concussion in football, another in wresting and while snowboarding. I'm going to assume I've had another at some point and go with 4.

 

So much explained.

[Pushfrog98]

Every time I hear about guys with a countable list of concussions I try and remember how many I've had. Definitely had one knock out concussion in football, another in wresting and while snowboarding. I'm going to assume I've had another at some point and go with 4.

I've had 3 for sure concussions. 1st was in 5th grade. Diving for a volleyball in PE and didn't realize I was as close to a wall as I was. About an hour after I hit the wall, everything looked like I was looking through a broken window. Really messed up feeling. 2nd was a baseball injury, knee to the side of the head. I was knocked out for a solid minute or two. I was playing CF, ran towards 2nd baseman to make diving catch. RF didn't hear me calling for it, plowed me over. I woke up on my back looking at the CF fence. 3rd was a college accident. Fell out of bed that was lofted, cracked my head on my desk below.

 

I worry that I will have long term issues from them, or if Im just forgetful all the sudden at the ripe old age of 34.

[javy knows my name]

There we go; I didn't make up the problems with alcohol. Also, that was kind of a tough read.

[Wilson A2000]

Freel had Stage 2 CTE. 10 concussions, wow. Is this the first anyone has heard of a baseball player having CTE?

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10142581/cte-present-ryan-freel-killed-self-report-says

[OleMissCub]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

[Wilson A2000]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

 

Yahoo says he's the first. I wonder if MLB knew about the findings before they voted on collisions at home plate.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/ryan-freel-becomes-first-mlb-diagnosed-chronic-traumatic-202553277--mlb.html

[WrigleyField 22]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

I can't buy that as a legitimate theory based on everything I know about ALS. The cause of ALS seams to continue to be a mystery and I would think something as relatively simple as head trauma would have shown a stronger correlation by now.

[OleMissCub]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

I can't buy that as a legitimate theory based on everything I know about ALS. The cause of ALS seams to continue to be a mystery and I would think something as relatively simple as head trauma would have shown a stronger correlation by now.

 

There is lots of research out there about it. Apparently ALS is unusually high among boxers, football players, soccer players and other contact sports.

[WrigleyField 22]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

I can't buy that as a legitimate theory based on everything I know about ALS. The cause of ALS seams to continue to be a mystery and I would think something as relatively simple as head trauma would have shown a stronger correlation by now.

 

There is lots of research out there about it. Apparently ALS is unusually high among boxers, football players, soccer players and other contact sports.

Can you point me towards anything you've read? I am pretty interested in the disease and have never heard of this.

[NOLA]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

I can't buy that as a legitimate theory based on everything I know about ALS. The cause of ALS seams to continue to be a mystery and I would think something as relatively simple as head trauma would have shown a stronger correlation by now.

 

There is lots of research out there about it. Apparently ALS is unusually high among boxers, football players, soccer players and other contact sports.

Can you point me towards anything you've read? I am pretty interested in the disease and have never heard of this.

Here is a story on the NFL site, but there are studies all over the place.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d819d12df/article/scientists-link-athletes-head-injuries-alslike-disease

 

If you weren't aware of the Steve Gleason story, he founded what really is an amazing foundation for the research of ALS and the treatment and care of patients with the disease. The logo for his foundation is my sig, and he is a huge inspiration for me, our city and really anyone for that matter. I honestly am in awe of him, and his wife. Here's his story behind the foundation:

[OleMissCub]

Not sure about CTE but I know there is a theory that Lou Gehrig's ALS was brought about by numerous possible concussions he suffered from being hit in the head on multiple occasions.

I can't buy that as a legitimate theory based on everything I know about ALS. The cause of ALS seams to continue to be a mystery and I would think something as relatively simple as head trauma would have shown a stronger correlation by now.

 

There is lots of research out there about it. Apparently ALS is unusually high among boxers, football players, soccer players and other contact sports.

Can you point me towards anything you've read? I am pretty interested in the disease and have never heard of this.

 

Can't point to anything I've read. Real Sports seems to have done several segments about it. Also, I've seen a documentary recently about Steve Gleason, the former Saints player who is now dying of it, and they talk a lot about it.

[Guest]

Like most pathologies I'm sure their are multiple routes. My mother in law never boxed a day in her life and she is suffering badly from atypical Parkinson's Disease. The type Ali has and is closely linked to boxing. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Three years ago she was an active kindegarten teacher, now she freezes and falls and sometimes cannot open her eyes, all while being conscious of what is happening.

[NOLA]

Like most pathologies I'm sure their are multiple routes. My mother in law never boxed a day in her life and she is suffering badly from atypical Parkinson's Disease. The type Ali has and is closely linked to boxing. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Three years ago she was an active kindegarten teacher, now she freezes and falls and sometimes cannot open her eyes, all while being conscious of what is happening.

 

My gf's mother was acting normally just 13 months ago. She now is near catatonic for stretches and has to be fed and taken to the bathroom. They originally thought it was Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but now they have eliminated that and are testing for ALS, among other things. Scary.

[OleMissCub]

Like most pathologies I'm sure their are multiple routes. My mother in law never boxed a day in her life and she is suffering badly from atypical Parkinson's Disease. The type Ali has and is closely linked to boxing. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. Three years ago she was an active kindegarten teacher, now she freezes and falls and sometimes cannot open her eyes, all while being conscious of what is happening.

 

My gf's mother was acting normally just 13 months ago. She now is near catatonic for stretches and has to be fed and taken to the bathroom. They originally thought it was Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but now they have eliminated that and are testing for ALS, among other things. Scary.

 

That's horrible stuff guys. Sorry.

[Pushfrog98]

These head traumas scare the crap out of me. I've had 3 solid concussions in my life. One bad one in 5th grade that caused my vision to turn on me. Looked like I was looking through a broken window. One in 9th grade baseball. Took a knee to the side of the head while diving for the ball (RF "didn't hear me" calling everyone off). Woke up on my back facing the opposite direction about 5minutes later. Then another in college (fell off loft, cracked head on corner of desk). I just worry that they can add up. I haven't noticed any issues, but what if one more knock throws me off?

[mul21]

These head traumas scare the crap out of me. I've had 3 solid concussions in my life. One bad one in 5th grade that caused my vision to turn on me. Looked like I was looking through a broken window. One in 9th grade baseball. Took a knee to the side of the head while diving for the ball (RF "didn't hear me" calling everyone off). Woke up on my back facing the opposite direction about 5minutes later. Then another in college (fell off loft, cracked head on corner of desk). I just worry that they can add up. I haven't noticed any issues, but what if one more knock throws me off?

 

I think you're having issues because you posted nearly this exact same thing on the same page in this thread. :shock:

[MSG T]

These head traumas scare the crap out of me. I've had 3 solid concussions in my life. One bad one in 5th grade that caused my vision to turn on me. Looked like I was looking through a broken window. One in 9th grade baseball. Took a knee to the side of the head while diving for the ball (RF "didn't hear me" calling everyone off). Woke up on my back facing the opposite direction about 5minutes later. Then another in college (fell off loft, cracked head on corner of desk). I just worry that they can add up. I haven't noticed any issues, but what if one more knock throws me off?

 

 

I had one in football, two in baseball (including taking a 90+ mph fastball to the cheekbone) and one in basketball, all in high school and all diagnosed. Add to that the three more I've had since joining the Army. Sporadic short term memory loss and occasional lapses in attention (reminds my wife of day dreaming) are a couple of issues I've had for a few years now. As a bonus, Alzheimers has occurred in the family (including my grandmother).

 

Yeah, it scares the crap out of me. I had a heart attack almost five years ago and heart disease doesn't worry me a bit. Dying after spending a few years gradually forgetting everything and everyone I know does.

[Guest]

These head traumas scare the crap out of me. I've had 3 solid concussions in my life. One bad one in 5th grade that caused my vision to turn on me. Looked like I was looking through a broken window. One in 9th grade baseball. Took a knee to the side of the head while diving for the ball (RF "didn't hear me" calling everyone off). Woke up on my back facing the opposite direction about 5minutes later. Then another in college (fell off loft, cracked head on corner of desk). I just worry that they can add up. I haven't noticed any issues, but what if one more knock throws me off?

 

I think you're having issues because you posted nearly this exact same thing on the same page in this thread. :shock:

 

To be fair, the previous similar post was 350 days ago.

[NOLA]

Not trying to derail this thread even more so, much less on a political track, but it is infuriating to me the lobby against stem cell research. There have been some very promising developments in the fight against ALS. The fact that some assholes in the Christian Right have fought against stem cell research on the grounds of being pro-life is maddening.

Here's the article on the promise of this research:

http://alsn.mda.org/news/als-stem-cell-trial-israel-accelerated

[bukie]

Not trying to derail the thread, but here's a link that has nothing to do with baseball, this thread, or anything on the topic.

[NOLA]

Not trying to derail the thread, but here's a link that has nothing to do with baseball, this thread, or anything on the topic.

 

My bad. I should have known it was out of line to post an article pertaining to something several people were talking passionately and personally about. Is it better that this board should return to the same 5 posters all the time? Geez.

[WrigleyField 22]

Pretty interesting reading up about some of this stuff. Looks like one study from August 2010 initially made some link, but more recent stuff says its actually more likely brain trauma related issues being mis-diagnosed as ALS (even Lou Gehrig himself maybe). And the distinction being a specific protein that is unique to those who show the symptoms with a history of brain trauma, verse those without the trauma. So it is likely a related though technically different disorder. But for all normal intents and purposes, there does seem to be a link (because who cares if theres the existence of a certain protein or not when your body just slowly degrades on itself)

 

My uncle died of a disease pretty similar to ALS although I don't think they ever actually were able to diagnose him with anything, watching him, it was a pretty similar degradation of his body. Not sure what his concussion history, but he was a college football player. Just awful to experience that slow transformation though.

[OleMissCub]

ALS-ish diseases really do seem to be the absolute worst on earth.