Katina Stuckey Smith and Bobby Thomas said the particular diagnosis came after an examination of their own son’s brain subsequent his death in December , according to a news release from the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
Smith plus Thomas told HURUF News their 33-year-old son died of cardiac arrest the result of a seizure disorder that led to his pension from football in June of 2021.
CTE, known as chronic distressing encephalopathy, occurs when the brain starts to degenerate likely due to recurring head traumas, according to the Mayo Clinic . It has been found in the minds of people who perform football and other get in touch with sports, the center said, and analysis is currently only achievable through autopsy simply by studying sections of the brain.
Doctor Ann McKee, a professor of neurology and pathology with Boston University’s CTE Center, studied Thomas’ brain and made the diagnosis.
“We found what we’ve seen in so many other players under the age of 34, ” McKee told ABC News. “On the basis of multiple lesions in the frontal lobes and temporal lobe are starting degeneration of much deeper areas of the brain. He was diagnosed with CTE, stage two. ”
She added: “CTE itself does not cause loss of life. You don’t die from CTE…. What CTE does is it adjustments your behavior as well as your personality. ”
Thomas’ mom and dad told ABC Information they saw their own son dealing with a lot of CTE symptoms in the months leading up to his death, such as systematisierter wahn, memory loss plus frequent headaches.
“His disposition would change, and he would also separate himself sometimes, inch Smith said. “He was like, ‘Mom, I actually don’t know what’s going on along with my body. I have to get myself with each other. ‘ And he stated, ‘I don’t feel like myself anymore. ‘”
Whenever doctors started detailing the side effects of CTE, Thomas’ father stated “bells started buzzing. ”
“When they said this, I was like ‘Man, he was carrying out that… He do that too! ‘” Bobby Thomas recalled to ABC News.
Smith mentioned they decided to donate Thomas’ brain intended for study because it could what he would have wanted.
“At first, I didn’t want to do this. I was against it, ” Smith said. “But then I kept in mind a conversation DT and I had where he said, ‘Mom, if anything ever happens to me, I want to have the ability to help other gamers. ‘”
Thomas is considered one of the best wide receivers in Denver Broncos background. He spent most of his career in Denver, winning two AFC championships and Super Bowl fifty. The NFL superstar was also selected in order to multiple Pro Bowls and is second perfect in Broncos history in receiving yards.
Jones was traded towards the Houston Texans throughout the 2018 season and later finished their career with the Nyc Jets.
CNN offers reached out to the NFL regarding Thomas’ diagnosis.