(WXYZ) - For the uncle who knew and helped raise Mike Borich and watched his success on the grid iron, it’s hard to fathom how this loving husband and devoted father of four just snapped.
Daniel Borich recalls, “Ten years ago it was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was argumentative, he just changed.”
Mike became depressed and started using drugs. He went on a downward spiral until he died at age 42 from a drug overdose.
Then a neurologist at Boston University wanted to study Mike’s brain. She and other doctors like Bennet Amalu shown here on Nightline believe the brains of deceased NFL players hold the key to brain damage suffered from multiple concussions. Mike suffered from many.
Daniel Borich says, “My brother said he had been unconscious 9 or 10 times in a game, had been knocked out.”
Knocked out, but never told it was too dangerous for him to continue playing.
According to Daniel Borich, “You cleared your head with smelling salt and you went back in again. Nowadays you take more precaution with it but still once you feel your head clear, you go back into the game. That’s the name of football and a lot of other sports.”
Mike was the first college football player who didn’t play in the NFL diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy or C.T.E. His brain looks similar to deceased NFL players’ brains with C.T.E.
Dr. Kenneth Podell of Henry Ford Hospital is a neuropsychologist who studies concussions that lead to C.T.E.
Dr. Podell told us, “It’s what you call punch drunk and the repeated blows tend to cause damage to the cells.”
Dr. Keith Burch has been the Lions Physician for 29 years. He works closely with Dr. Podell. “We worry about multiple concussions. That’s the purpose of the NFL study and if there’s any drop off or change after multiple concussions of course he would no longer be playing. We’d ask him to retire.”
Mike Borich didn’t have that chance. Doctors say C.T.E. likely led to his destructive behavior and untimely death.
For Mike’s family it still hurts.
Now, the Mike Borich case could shift the spotlight to young athletes like Mike Messina, a senior at Troy High School. Mike suffered a concussion during a varsity football game in September.
Mike told us, “I remember trying to get up and everything was spinning around me. I had no control.” He couldn’t even stand up and walk to his coach.
Mike’s mom and dad were in the stands, but weren’t allowed on the field. His mom, Elaine, told us she was sick to her stomach frightened, “really worried that he was okay and not being able to talk to him.”
There was a physician and a trainer on the field with Mike. He passed a series of tests and was okayed to go home. He was expected to gradually get better within 7 – 10 days.
But, according to his mom, “At three weeks he was still having headaches. He was still having memory issues, short term memory didn’t seem to be there.”
A friend advised them to see Dr. Podell. He treated Mike who didn’t feel normal for six weeks.
Had he gone back into the game he could have had that second concussion.
Second impact concussions happen when young athletes haven’t healed from the first concussion. And this can lead to bleeding on the brain or eventually C.T.E. Adults over 20 recover raster from concussions because their brains are fully developed.
Dr. Podell told us he saw kids last week who took multiple hits in a game, “and the symptoms progressively worsened to the point he couldn’t get up.”
I asked about the worst case scenario. Dr. Podell said under the absolute worst case, it could lead to death.
1.7 million kids play high school football. Approximately four kids died last year. Dr. Podell says for a kid to be cleared to go back on the field he must be symptom free for at least one or two days. And coaches and parents must understand a concussion is nothing to play with.
According to Dr. Podell, “It’s an injury; don’t feel you’re being weak if you don’t play.”
Otherwise, as with Mike Borich, the damage is often irreversible.
For Mike’s family, keeping other players safe will be Mike’s legacy. It’s a message they want to hit home to every coach, trainer or parent who will listen and be proactive, so his tragic story won’t have to be repeated.
For More Information:
http://www.henryford.com/body.cfm?id=40876
http://www.cdc.gov/concussioninYouthSports/
http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concussion-overview
