Article on Mike Matheny
 

Mike Matheny is a former major-league baseball catcher who retired in 2006 after a series of foul tips on his catcher's mask resulted in a serious concussion (or series of concussions?). After a lengthy recovery, he returned to baseball in 2008 as a special advisor to the St. Louis Cardinals (his former team) and is now considered to be a future managerial candidate. Here's a link to, and quote from, the article:

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/bl...ead-leads-you/

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When Matheny first landed on the DL with a concussion he had his own set of concerns to deal with. "The first nine months were really scary. It took almost 18 months until I felt like I could do things that I was doing right before I was hurt. That was a pretty scary time and very eye opening."

"My problems were always with the cognitive stuff, not being able to put things together or even being able to speak right at times. It was bizarre how my concussions went. The headaches and that sort of stuff were there, but they weren't any big deal to me. I could just tell my mind wasn't working right."

The impact of his concussions on his family was severe. "My kids are all very athletic, and always had some sport that they were playing. We enjoy the outdoors and our family would spend most of our time together outside playing. Our favorite family game is without a doubt, whiffle ball. While I was recovering from the concussions, I was not able to do much of anything. I was not able to get my heart rate up, so I couldn't play any kind of games with the kids."

He soon realized more was at stake than just his baseball career and he retired from baseball on Feb. 1, 2007.

Note: the 41-year-old Mike Matheny was just named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a major accomplishment for the former catcher and a great sign that he's fully recovered from his long bout with PCS from around 2006-08.

I applaud Mike Matheny for his courage to make the hard choice to stop playing. His new position as Manager for the St Louis Cardinals says nothing about his level of recovery. I bet he stays away from any training where he risks getting beaned by a ball. He would do well to wear a batting helmet when on or near an active playing field.

His recovery is still in progress. Many of the delayed symptoms of PCS start showing up in the mid 40's. Hope he does not have to deal with these delayed symptoms.

The word recovery seems to get used in different ways, depending on the context. I don't doubt that Matheny has suffered some permanent loss of brain capacity. It's also possible that he may have some recurrence of PCS issues or symptoms down the road.

However, it seems clear that he's "recovered" in the sense that he has been well enough to work for a couple of years in the Cards' front office, and has now won the competition for a much-sought-after managerial position, a job with many high-level cognitive and social demands.

Considering that early on in his PCS recovery he was having trouble playing with his kids, doing household chores, climbing a set of stairs, and remembering where his wallet and keys were, and had significant cognitive issues, this seems to me to be remarkable and inspiring progress.

Yes, it is remarkable progress. But, we have no idea how may work-arounds and other accommodations he uses daily to function at his current level.

Too many people, including doctors and other professionals, like to use the term FULL recovery. It creates an opportunity for PCS sufferers to expect a full recovery if they just wait long enough. Any recovery from prolonged PCS requires effort, a change in expectations, and sacrifice.

There are many trade-offs required to get to maximum recovery.

A more realistic term could be 'good recovery.'

I still have many symptoms and limitations but could easily lead a large organization like a ball team if I was allowed a few accommodations. But, it would take a remarkable organization to accommodate me.

I bet Mike proved himself in the front office and was able to establish the accommodations needed for him to function as Manager.

Good for him and for the Cardinals.

Mark please clarify
 

"His recovery is still in progress. Many of the delayed symptoms of PCS start showing up in the mid 40's. Hope he does not have to deal with these delayed symptoms."

Mark, what delayed symptoms are you talking about? I'm 25.... should I expect these? Thank you very much.