A Huge Blessing in Disguise - A look back, to move forward!

Sometimes, we think things are being done TO us, when they are actually being done FOR us! That’s just another way of saying that blessings often come in many ways, shapes, and forms, which are also known as "blessings in disguise". We can go ahead right now and stash this article away in the Lessons Learned file.

Honestly though, my husband Earl Christy didn’t feel all that blessed, when he was unable to play football in high school. In fact, it has always been one of those things he doesn’t talk about much. But whenever he does talk about it, he just says “it made me feel bad”.?After I finally did ask how he felt about that, it made me feel sad... hence the reason we don't discuss it much.

According to his book, The Earl Christy Story - The Story of a Super Bowl Champ - by Ruben Rodriguez and Joy Buckels, he says “I went to Havre de Grace Consolidated because we were not allowed to go to Aberdeen High School or Havre de Grace High School, due to segregation and Jim Crow laws. They were the all-white schools and Havre de Grace Consolidated was a small all-black school located in Western Shore, Maryland and that is where I had to go”.

It literally made my heart sink, just having to type that quote. But anyway… because he was not able to attend the all-white schools where they had football, he did not start his fascinating football career until college, because his high school did not have a football team. Being the all around athlete that he is though, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that he participated in all three sports that his school did offer, which were cross country, basketball, and track and field.

In one game, the opposing team scored 42 points, while Earl single handedly scored 43 points. On October 12, 2012, he was recognized by the high school for his athletic achievements and was inducted into the Havre de Grace High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

He went on to make history on January 12, 1969, by catching the opening kick-off in Super Bowl III, with the NY Jets against the Baltimore Colts, and ultimately helped his teammates win the game and become world champions, but never played organized football until he attended college at University of Maryland Eastern Shores. He also played baseball, was a member of the track and field team, and was named to the University of Maryland Eastern Shores Hall of Fame.?

This story takes a nice twist and gets better though, because up until recently, we always felt a not-so-good feeling in the pits of our stomachs whenever we talk about the rarely discussed reason he never played football until college. Now, we are pleased to have a whole new attitude about what we once thought was a bad thing.

As we have learned more about the impact of concussion-related injuries, and the harsh and devastating reality of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), we now see the big picture. CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is totally preventable, and is caused by repetitive traumatic brain injuries.?

Based on extensive research, there are now strong initiatives to eliminate repetitive head impacts under the age of 14 by the year 2026, so that new cases of CTE can be eradicated. It is highly recommended that youth avoid playing tackle football at least until high school, due to what research has discovered in terms of brain development.?

In efforts to spread awareness, the parents of a former Missouri high school football player went public with their son’s stage 2 (of 4) chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) diagnosis. Wyatt Bramwell, of Pleasant Hill, Mo., died by suicide in July 2019 at age 18, just months after graduating from high school. Boston University CTE Center researchers made the diagnosis, the first case of stage 2 (of 4) CTE in a teenager.

According to the article that was published, “It takes years for CTE to progress from stage 1 to stage 2, so to find stage 2 CTE in an 18-year-old is the clearest evidence yet that we are giving children CTE in sports,” said Dr. Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the Boston University CTE Center and UNITE Brain Bank. “I hope this inspires further CTE prevention efforts, including adoption of CTE prevention protocols in sports.”?

“This is an example of a person with fairly advanced damage to his brain, given that he only played amateur football and his highest level was high school,” McKee said. Wyatt’s condition was caused by playing tackle football for about 10 years, including four years in high school, McKee says. Bramwell started playing flag football at 5 years old and advanced to tackle in the third grade.

Wyatt Bramwell's mother, Christie Bramwell says she knew what CTE was but thought it was only found in older professional football players. She never imagined the disease would alter her life forever. “I thought the worst thing that would ever happen to my kid maybe was a bad tackle. Something broken, something bleeding. That wasn’t the case.”

Wyatt Bramwell had the worst brain trauma ever seen in someone so young. We quickly realized that what we once thought was being done TO Earl was in actuality being done FOR him, as he has now witnessed multiple of his former teammates and fellow former NFL players (who played a lot longer than he), who have fallen victim to this awful disease.?

The extended length of exposure to repeated blows to the head, significantly increases the chances of developing CTE. At this time CTE can only be diagnosed post mortem, since a diagnosis requires evidence of degeneration of brain tissue and deposits of tau and other proteins in the brain. This can only be seen after death during an autopsy.?

Earl has had numerous concussions and concussion related injuries during his lifetime as an athlete. Since the signs and symptoms of CTE are still in a relatively early phase of research, are delayed, and can take 10, 20, or even 30 years or more to gradually surface, we truly don’t know what the future holds.

But we are extremely grateful that his time on the field was somewhat limited by the mere color of his skin. As a Board Certified Patient Advocate, I am committed to patient education, patient safety, and community education, so this is a huge opportunity to learn, grow, and make a difference.

I am quite intrigued by this new finding and have since been immersed in higher education on concussion-related injuries and CTE. I stand on my commitment to spread awareness by educating others and helping to improve quality of care and health outcomes. As for now, we are pleased to know that for Earl, this was all a huge blessing in disguise.?