In December of 2013, following over 10 hours of neuro-cognitive testing, and preceded by years of ever decreasing emotional control, my wife Laurie and I listened as the Neuro-psychologist summed up my results, “Probable etiology for these changes is multiple head trauma with multiple concussions. Problems with attention and memory are hallmarks of significant brain … Continue reading PBM Treatment Results for CTE
The Research
In past posts, my wife Laurie and I have detailed how we “accidentally” found ourselves in a cluttered office on the twelfth floor of the Boston VA hospital. We were in the office of Dr. Margaret Naeser, a research scientist at the VA for the past 36 years, and a faculty member at the Boston … Continue reading The Research
The Need is Real
On Sunday April 14th a newspaper article about our struggle with CTE appeared in the Deseret News out of Salt Lake City. First online, and then in the Monday paper, the article by Lee Benson, chronicled our journey to find a treatment that actually worked for the symptoms my husband was suffering from. Science was … Continue reading The Need is Real
“Light” is the Answer
As I said in my last post, after around 7 weeks without treatment, we called the VA. We wanted to start the home treatment right away, however Larry needed to go back to Dr. Naeser for another round of fMRI's and testing first. I was really nervous about this step in the study. I knew … Continue reading “Light” is the Answer
The Miracle of Light
As I mentioned in my last blog post, Larry was the first ex-football player to be studied extensively as part of the Boston VA study using photobiomodulation (PBM) as a treatment for brain damage and possible CTE. As part of the study, he went through more neurocognitive testing to establish a baseline, and he had … Continue reading The Miracle of Light
The Next Morning
...continued from 'My Darkest Night' The next morning arrived without any more words. I could tell Laurie still wasn’t free from the terrible feelings from the night before, and I couldn’t blame her. It was summer, so we were out of school for vacation and had nowhere to go. I was sitting on the couch … Continue reading The Next Morning
My Darkest Night
As I introduce the gift and power of light and the impact it has had in our life, I feel compelled to tell the rest of the story. This is not easy. However, I believe it is important to fully appreciate the dramatic contrast of darkness as it is replaced with light, both metaphorically and … Continue reading My Darkest Night
Boston, Tuesday June 13, 2017 8:30am
"I can't stop weeping - couldn't go into the post office. He (Larry) had to go in even though his hip hurts. Why can't I just ignore this? Why is this so hard for me to deal with? Is it because we are on a mission and I expected it to be peaceful and happy, … Continue reading Boston, Tuesday June 13, 2017 8:30am
Again, it’s not about concussions!
A recent announcement by the NFL happened to come out on my birthday this year. In the article, “NFL sees significant drop in concussions during the 2018 season” http://www.nfl.com/news/story, the league claimed a 24% decrease in reported concussions, dropping from 281 in 2017 down to 214 this past season. League officials suggested the decrease was … Continue reading Again, it’s not about concussions!
This Is Not Just Another CTE Story
We are told there is no official diagnosis, cure or even an effective treatment for the neurodegenerative disease CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Because of this bleak reality, people are turning their backs on the personal stories chronicling the effects of this devastating condition. After all, who wants to keep hearing about athletes killing themselves, or … Continue reading This Is Not Just Another CTE Story
Football and the Brain 