Former NFL quarterback Kevin Kolb was forced to end his playing career before he reached his 30s because of head injuries. Kolb suffered four concussions that we know about. The first came in 2010 when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles and the last in a 2013 preseason game with the Buffalo Bills. The 29-year-old still very much feels the effect of the injuries today.
In a first-person piece he wrote for The Monday Morning Quarterback, Kolb painted a disturbing picture of what life is like after several brain injuries.
With concussions, sometimes you don’t know what is a symptom and what is not. But some symptoms are impossible to ignore. The ringing is like someone shooting a shotgun right next to my ear, every second of every day. It doesn’t go away.
The sensitivity to light also has a profound impact. I’ll be in a business meeting indoors and have to politely ask to put on my sunglasses before the headaches and double vision start.
But I can deal with those symptoms. The short-term memory loss is more difficult. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m just busy with a very full schedule and that’s why I can’t remember everything, or if it’s a concussion symptom.
After suffering his last concussion, Kolb reportedly struggled to answer simple questions like, “Where are you?” His wife encouraged him to retire, and it doesn’t sound like he needed much convincing.
Kolb, who mentioned several times that he is very religious, didn’t seem like someone who has an axe to grind. He was simply unable to avoid head injuries, which is unfortunately true of a lot of players who play or have played in the NFL. The entire piece is worth a read.
H/T Shutdown Corner
