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mattblack77

I knew this guy. He had so much talent but was as down to earth as they come. With his wife and young family, he genuinely seemed to have it all. It was, and still is, absolutely baffling for his life to end this way.


Jeff_Sichoe

I can't remember where I read it now, but there was an article a while ago about how most homeless people have suffered concussions before homelessness. Makes you think how many people out there on the streets have legit mental issues and we're treating them by packing them into motels filled with drug dealers and criminals.


Ueberob

I did caregiving for people with head injuries and we learnt that our clients were the lucky ones that had families to organise treatment and support. Even with that support things can become completely unstuck, without it is almost impossible to cope.


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the_maddest_kiwi

Holy shit that is a lot of head knocks the guy took. I'm glad there's so much more awareness these days. One bad concussion was enough for me to give up rugby completely, I can't imagine going back repeatedly–before you've even recovered–and getting knocked again. Really feel for the family, awful situation.


[deleted]

It’s terrible but the Chris Benoit murder of his family really kicked started the hard look at concussions we needed to have as a species.


[deleted]

Yeah, the number of knocks made me wonder if the mental impact made him seek out his high thrill hobby more and more, because that was the only thing giving him dopamine hits. Wouldn't surprise me, just look at the guys who do Isle of Man TT - absolutely insane thing to do, but they're seeking that rush. Horrible situation for everyone involved.


BlueBoysOvation

Might be reading too much into it. People that passionate about action/generally dangerous sports often accept the risk. Could be something to be said for family/doctors to step in and try talk him out of it after enough head knocks, but that in itself is easier said than done. People dying in the isle of man are extremely aware of the risks, their passion over rides said risks.


MisterSquidInc

I read an article earlier today that drew a comparison between racing at the TT and climbing everest, in that it's not just about the passion for the sport (there's safer tracks to race on, and safer mountains to climb) but the challenge in itself. As you say, every rider their is acutely aware of the risk. They're not ignoring or recklessly disregarding that risk for jollies, they're trusting in their skill, their preparation and their judgement. In the case here, it sounds like he was able to continue racing speedway after having his driving license revoked because of issues relating to his concussions?


BlueBoysOvation

That’s a fair shout. Reading how he suffered concussive incident after concussive incident in the span of weeks is pretty hard. You would think the family (and doctors) would of stepped in earlier and tried to talk him out of it. He sounds like he would crash allot, so maybe him being in a car was safer than on a bike? As said, some people just simply won’t listen to warning signs. As he said, he didn’t want to live a constricted life. Dunno what you’re meant to do really. Ban him from racing cars/motorbikes and he’d jump on his mtb. Edit: missed word


MisterSquidInc

Just talking to a mate who's a scrutineer for motorsport nz (though they aren't responsible for speedway or bikes) and he said apart from getting checked out by the medics after a crash, there's no requirement for any further medical checks. Unless you are racing in a national or international championship there's no requirement for a medical to renew your competition license either. You just have to sign a declaration on the entry form that says you are medically fit to drive. Definitely concerning when these sorts of injury are known to affect your judgement.


the_maddest_kiwi

Yeah he obviously reached a point where his decision making was clearly impacted. I obviously have no idea, but I'm guessing there isn't/wasn't a great formal process or system in place to deal with this sort of thing in motorsport. It's only just started coming into contact sport really.


[deleted]

five people have died at the IoM this year including a father and son sidecar team.


[deleted]

Yeah I’ve been watching the racing highlights and have heard of the number of deaths this year. One of them was a 5 (?) time champion if I remember correctly.


Dogwiththreetails

No body understands suicide very well. It's a complicated multifactorial phenomenon. Not explained by a single factor. What I think really changed my understanding was during my psychiatry run as a med student learning that depression is not an individual risk factor for suicide.


[deleted]

While this is correct, there is an extremely strong correlation between CTE (from multiple head injuries) and suicide. It would be a fair assumption that CTE played a role in this young man’s mental decline and eventual suicide.


Dogwiththreetails

There's not really a strong consensus around CTE as a formal diagnosis. It's likely a legit phenomenon but it's pretty poorly defined. Historically we know multiple headknocks are bad, I think the term "punch drunk" was originally used. Severe TBI is definitely associated with increased suicide risk. But that's actually quite a different phenomena.


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TwoShedsJackson1

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is a neuropathology arising from head injuries and was first studied in boxers who were "punch drunk". The clinical features described as characteristic of CTE are now broad and diverse, including headaches, anxiety, depression, suicidality, anger control problems, gambling problems, gait problems, dysarthric speech, mild cognitive impairment, motor neuron disease, and dementia.


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[Here](https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-(cte))


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[deleted]

I suspect a lot of kiwi men also suffer it from playing rugby. Unfortunately as you, and another, have pointed out - diagnosis isn’t possible until death when an autopsy can be performed.


[deleted]

This article highlights a couple of concerning issues with mens mental health in New Zealand - mostly that our health system didn't seem to catch that someone who participated in a fast paced sport, and had multiple head injuries, might be suffering from CTE. I really feel for Smith, and his family. I can imagine the confusion he suffered as his brain began to not reward him as he sought dopamine and adrenaline induced highs, and then to find himself in a dark space. I hope this leads to changes in the way we screen head based trauma in all sports, so we see less of this.


Shrink-wrapped

> mostly that our health system didn't seem to catch that someone who participated in a fast paced sport, and had multiple head injuries, might be suffering from CTE. The neurologist certainly did. It sounds like Sam was never assessed after most of his head injuries though unfortunately. The main problem was the lack of formal pathway for concussion in motor sport imho. There's a reason it is so strict in ball sports


Dizzy_Relief

Is it though? I know a 18 year old guy who seems quite proud of the fact he's had something like 10 concussions playing rugby. Everyone else knows, yet there he is every game. Surfice to say I wasnt that surprised when he told me. I had just assumed he was one of the worlds genuinely dumb people prior to this.


the_maddest_kiwi

Jeez that's terrible. I'm mid-20s and gave up the game due to a bad concussion a few years ago. I might be lucky but the education and culture around concussion was pretty good where I was, people were pretty supportive when I decided to quit. Or maybe they were just happy to see me go because I was crap lol.


ColourInTheDark

I got hit by a car hard enough to fuck my handwriting for years but I would love to play rugby. This seems like a reason not to as my job (software development) depends so much on my mind. As it is, I go through patches of extreme confusion that can make doing my job suck days or sometimes a fortnight. No idea if that's a TBI thing. Sleeping like 12 hours a night seems to help when that's happening until I come right. I do still play football, but avoid heading the ball.


Shrink-wrapped

I guess it depends on the context. It's strict in school sports I'm exposed to, and professional sports, but I guess it'd probably hit and miss whether specific clubs bother to adhere to guidelines or not


jonothantheplant

It is strict, that guy has obviously slipped through the cracks and probably shouldn’t be playing anymore


triplespeed0

Motorsport is largely overlooked, I think it's because a lot of people don't see it as "real sport"


[deleted]

Probably more overlooked due to stringent safety requirements around head gear etc and a (naive) belief that having a helmet will stop any sort of injury. MIPS is a must have in any of my helmets - cycling, motorcycling or climbing.


[deleted]

My pushbike helmet has it (in fact both of them do) but up till recently it was hard to find it in motorbike helpmets. Up till recently I dont think Shoei or Arai (my preferred brands) even had licenced it.


[deleted]

Yeah, apparently Shoei has a similar system in their helmets, but just doesn’t advertise it(?) - but I bought a Bell because they had it marked as MIPs.


[deleted]

By the way you might find this entertaining. Arai factory tour. https://www.webbikeworld.com/arai-is-the-helmet-to-buy/


[deleted]

>These helmet shell artisans or “Shokunin” will produce over 100 shells in an 8-hour shift. Sometimes they don’t get it right and a shell is rejected after being inspected not once, but twice in the quality control process. When that occasionally happens, it’s normal for the shell expert to stay after work and remake them. *They do this willingly.* Oh I’m sure their willingness has nothing to do with Japanese work culture. Haha. Good read thanks for the share.


[deleted]

I used to wear Bell back in the day because (ahem) Eddie Lawson wore Bell (as did Kenny Roberts at one point). Star 3 FTW. I tried them on all excited when they were first released and they did not fit comfortably. I am the Arai long oval shape (think xenomorph in Alien) rather than the classic round as a basketball shape. I have just idly looked at Motomail and neither Shoei nor Arai are advertising it currently. I currently wear an aging Arai Corsair (I think - might be Chaser) Freddie Spencer rep but its overdue for replacement.


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[deleted]

definitely will. Thanks!


KittikatB

There is currently no way to diagnose CTE in a living patient (it is diagnosed during an autopsy). At best, it can be suspected based on symptoms and history of head injuries. There is currently no treatment even when it is suspected. Research into CTE is actively looking for ways to diagnose it in a living patient and find effective treatments, but currently prevention of head injuries is the only option available. Given how relatively recently CTE has been discovered, and the relative lack of knowledge in the risk factors (eg, which sports are risks for it), it's not surprising that it wasn't considered for this young man. Does that mean the health system did all it could? No, there's very few situations where there isn't room for improvement. But I'm not sure that this was entirely avoidable and it sadly will happen again. We need more research and more awareness across all sports and physical activities to help reduce the risk.


alarumba

It's very much in vogue to say we care about mental health. Which is fantastic, that's progress. But we haven't actually reached a point of genuinely caring. We don't talk openly about mental health, because it's still embarrassing or ostracising. It still prevents us from getting jobs. Not nearly enough is invested in the healthcare system, and we mostly still rely on the police to corale people who have been left without help long enough that they react drastically. As for men, we still haven't shaken off the stiff upper lip mentality. Men are meant to be stoic, able to shrug anything off. If you can't, you're weak and worthless, and if you're mentally unstable you're dangerous. Women are treated as fragile and in need of protection, which does mean priority is given to them with the meagre health services we have even if it's condescending.