Fan favorite ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor appeared recently on the Three Amigos Podcast, and revealed he is suffering from an alarming symptom that could be linked to head trauma.
“You know, six months ago, I had a concussion, and I’m not sure how much I ever really recovered from it,” said Lawlor, as transcribed by Stephie Haynes for BE. “Leading up to my fight, during fight week, there were a few instances – and this has been happening on and off for a while, six months or so, over that, for about a year – I’ll vomit randomly. I’m not sure if it’s due to… I drink a lot of coffee, so it could be that, it could be that it is one of the concussion symptoms, or it could be so damned hot here that I’m just super dehydrated.
“There’s some stuff that goes on with me that I’m not really sure what the deal is, but it makes me think twice about fighting after having some sort of head trauma. Obviously, I’m a huge pro-wrestling fan, and CTE and those sort of things are very prevalent not only in that industry, but in other professional sports like football. When you suffer a concussion, it’s easy to deal with on a daily basis for the most part, but the stuff down the road is what’s really worrisome. That’s just kinda been in the back of my head, so right now, I’m just not looking to fight in the immediate future.”
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease found in people who have had a severe blow to the head. The disease was previously called dementia pugilistica, i.e. “punch-drunk”, as it was initially found in those with a history of boxing. CTE has been most commonly found in professional athletes participating in American football, association football, soccer, ice hockey, professional wrestling, stunt performing, bull riding, bicycle motocross, rodeo, and other contact sports who have experienced repeated concussions or other brain trauma.
Symptoms of CTE generally begin 8–10 years after experiencing repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. First stage symptoms include deterioration in attention as well as disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. Further disabilities appear with progressive deterioration; including memory loss, social instability, erratic behavior, and poor judgment. Third and fourth stages include progressive dementia, slowing of muscular movements, hypomimia, impeded speech, tremors, vertigo, deafness, and suicidality. Additional symptoms include dysarthria, dysphagia, and ocular abnormalities – such as ptosis.
There is no cure.
Source: Wiki
