A former NFL player suddenly lost all of his memory in December 2008. The 46-year-old man sustained a serious brain injury while on the job and woke up in a hospital bed, not knowing who he was, who is wife was or even what a wife was. His wife and family were shocked by his amnesia, and his doctors have said that his case is so severe that he will likely never remember his life before the accident.
The 46-year-old slipped and hit his head on the bathroom floor while at work. When he came to in the hospital, he did not know the identities of his family members and could not remember that he had once played in the National Football League. Despite this shocking transformation, his family stood by him, and his wife has helped him bring his life back together.
Doctors believe that this form of amnesia, known as retrograde amnesia, can be caused by encephalitis of the brain, or medial temporal lobe damage. They say this man’s case is one of the most severe they have ever come across. However, despite the hardships they have faced and will likely continue to face because of this workplace accident, he and his wife have begun rebuilding their lives together, step by step.
While this man’s case is very severe, it is one that many Ohio workers who have been injured on the job can likely relate to. The families of injured workers often suffer a great deal, often because of expensive medical bills and lost wages. In some cases, filing for workers’ compensation may be a feasible option.
Source: Injury Board, “Former NFL Player Wakes Up With No Memory,” David Mittleman, Oct. 7, 2011