Tough Read... Johan Franzen really struggling

[lhsgolf19]

Continue to fight and get better Mule! We are all rooting for you!

Click to read more...

 

[ArGarBarGar]

That is pretty heartbreaking, especially as one of his biggest fans and supporters back when he played.

Hope he can get through this.

 

[Claypool]

I'm so glad I get to watch Radko Gudas, Rob Klinkhammer, Douglas Murray and Mark Fistric than Johan Franzen.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Aw jeez. I really hope he can recover from this.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

Medical Marijuana - How I Overcame Post Concussion Syndrome, Graduated From High School, and Traveled the World

I suffered for years.

Now 10mg a day, Im much better.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Scary stuff when it comes to the brain. Can only hope he finds something that works to make him better.

 

[Ezekial]

Medical Marijuana - How I Overcame Post Concussion Syndrome, Graduated From High School, and Traveled the World

I suffered for years.

Now 10mg a day, Im much better.

Thanks for sharing your story, I'm happy you were able to figure out the best way to combat your issues. I had a similar, but less dramatic, problem growing up with a doctor throwing drugs at me - I've seen commercials for lawsuits for two different drugs I was taking for multiple years. Luckily I didn't have any lasting side effects, but they led me to some pretty rough years - I wish I could've told my doctors and parents to f*** off when I was 14-15.

Anyway good luck with the rest of your journey!

 

[FMichael]

Hope the Mule continues down the road with a strong, and successful recovery.

Stories of the vets, and their experiences must be a real eye opener for those such as myself that never served overseas.

 

[masta8]

Tough to hear, always was a fan of him as player on the ice and person off the ice.

 

[Flowah]

Man that really sucks.

I don't even remember how he got the injury(ies?).

Honestly, as much as big hits can sometimes be exciting, I'm okay with the game moving away from it and more towards speed and skill. No one should have to suffer these kinds of injuries as a semi-normal consequence of their profession. I don't care how much they're getting paid.

 

[odin1981]

Hope the Mule continues down the road with a strong, and successful recovery.

Stories of the vets, and their experiences must be a real eye opener for those such as myself that never served overseas.

Most of them have TBI from explosions such as artillery blasts, mortar rounds, or grenades, and some level of ptsd.

 

[FMichael]

Most of them have TBI from explosions such as artillery blasts, mortar rounds, or grenades, and some level of ptsd.

Indeed...By no means am I looking to downplay concussion woes that athletes suffer, but me thinks being in a combat zone is considerably worse.

 

[Disappointed EP40]

Thanks for sharing your story, I'm happy you were able to figure out the best way to combat your issues. I had a similar, but less dramatic, problem growing up with a doctor throwing drugs at me - I've seen commercials for lawsuits for two different drugs I was taking for multiple years. Luckily I didn't have any lasting side effects, but they led me to some pretty rough years - I wish I could've told my doctors and parents to **** off when I was 14-15.

Anyway good luck with the rest of your journey!

It wasn’t JUST cbd that fixed me, but patience more than anything.

CbD was the final piece as I went a couple years pretty down after all the major symptoms went away.

Highly rrecommend to everyone; no guarantee it will work but worth a try for sure.

 

[HisNoodliness]

What a warrior Franzen was for this team. I'll be forever grateful for everything he brought, but I feel terrible to know what the concussions have cost him. He seems like a great guy and I really hope that with proper treatment and time he can recover. Get well Mule, we're all still rooting for you.

 

[DDRhockey]

He might have CTE which is a death sentence.

 

[BinCookin]

He probably has CTE which is a death sentence.

You could be right... but man.. harsh.

 

[DDRhockey]

You could be right... but man.. harsh.

Well i hope not but he has 5 documented concussions.

 

[TheMule93]

I wish the best for him

 

[Shaman464]

I liked Mule a lot. I started disliking the whole situation when I saw he AND the team were making unhealthy decisions after he landed on the LTIR. Though I am not an MD, nor do I know the specifics of Franzen's case, I know enough about TBI to say that focusing on getting back into game shape can easily impede actually getting healthy. This is why the teams and the league need to get even more careful about how they handle head injuries. I know the team takes a bath on the contract, and Franzen is a competitor who wanted to be back on the ice, but someone should have stepped in at the team or league level and tell everyone involved that it would have been best to not try to get him back on the ice. Its a crappy thing to tell someone, but, sometimes the truth is crappy.

 

[Lampedampe]

If I remember correctly it was a high stick vs Carolina that truly sealed the deal.

I dunno but reading this just makes me mad, the severity of it all could've been avoided. This is not just a hindsight thing either, I remember a lot of people really questioning the decision to let him play again, but I guess it's questionable if that high-stick made things worse in the long run. I believe it was reported he had quite severe concussion symptoms just months before the klinkhammer hit aswell.

In situations like these I really think the league and team should be held responsible. Franzen was a true warrior that wanted to play the game and help the team, but the medical staff should've stepped in sooner. At the end of the day it was the medical team who cleared him to play after all.

 

[joestevens29]

If I remember correctly it was a high stick vs Carolina that truly sealed the deal.

I dunno but reading this just makes me mad, the severity of it all could've been avoided. This is not just a hindsight thing either, I remember a lot of people really questioning the decision to let him play again, but I guess it's questionable if that high-stick made things worse in the long run. I believe it was reported he had quite severe concussion symptoms just months before the klinkhammer hit aswell.

In situations like these I really think the league and team should be held responsible. Franzen was a true warrior that wanted to play the game and help the team, but the medical staff should've stepped in sooner. At the end of the day it was the medical team who cleared him to play after all.

The league is still pretending that the whole concussion thing is no existent. Until they lose a lawsuit they won't change their opinions. Seems like they are waiting until the courts are done before making more changes. Which I do understand from a business standpoint, but in the mean time more players are being hurt by the lack of enforcement of some real concussion protocol.

How often do we see guys that should be checked out in a game that aren't ever checked out?

 

[Lampedampe]

The league is still pretending that the whole concussion thing is no existent. Until they lose a lawsuit they won't change their opinions. Seems like they are waiting until the courts are done before making more changes. Which I do understand from a business standpoint, but in the mean time more players are being hurt by the lack of enforcement of some real concussion protocol.

How often do we see guys that should be checked out in a game that aren't ever checked out?

Exactly, Franzen even returned to the game after the klinkhammer hit I mean stuff like that completely baffles me. Imagine if he awkwardly slams his head into the boards/ice after returning, it's just plain luck it didn't happen.

 

[joestevens29]

Exactly, Franzen even returned to the game after the klinkhammer hit I mean stuff like that completely baffles me. Imagine if he awkwardly slams his head into the boards/ice after returning, it's just plain luck it didn't happen.

The real tough part is what can you really do sometimes. Jason Strudwick(Ex-Oiler) is on our local drive home radio show as a co-host. He flat out said for Backes, that his family needs to step in. He also said we need to find a way where if a guy with a history is cleared that the training staff should still hold the player out.

Problem is how long? What's actually stopping Backes from stepping on the ice the first day he is cleared? Is a trainer going to actually keep a player out? Keep in mind these guys are very easily replaceable.

It's just so hard to figure out. Personally I know a lot of people that have gotten concussions. One friend had 5 in 2 years. He did quit junior and now has no real issues 15 years later. Another guy had one, and clearly had problems when he went to University. His retention of knowledge was just isn't/wasn't there.

Hard to draw that line in what is such a grey area. Although I am thinking if you are reaching that point where a concussion is coming every year or two, then maybe the league can do something.

 

[Lampedampe]

The real tough part is what can you really do sometimes. Jason Strudwick(Ex-Oiler) is on our local drive home radio show as a co-host. He flat out said for Backes, that his family needs to step in. He also said we need to find a way where if a guy with a history is cleared that the training staff should still hold the player out.

Problem is how long? What's actually stopping Backes from stepping on the ice the first day he is cleared? Is a trainer going to actually keep a player out? Keep in mind these guys are very easily replaceable.

It's just so hard to figure out. Personally I know a lot of people that have gotten concussions. One friend had 5 in 2 years. He did quit junior and now has no real issues 15 years later. Another guy had one, and clearly had problems when he went to University. His retention of knowledge was just isn't/wasn't there.

Hard to draw that line in what is such a grey area. Although I am thinking if you are reaching that point where a concussion is coming every year or two, then maybe the league can do something.

Yeah and i also think the big problem with concussions in hockey is that head contact is so difficult to predict compared to football where head contact is a part of the game, while in nhl a player can go seasons without serious head contact. It's a big grey area unfourtunatly, there are however times where i think these kind of issues are avoidable, especially in Franzén's case where even media were questioning his return.

I just hate seeing these things happen tbh.

 

[kliq]

If I remember correctly it was a high stick vs Carolina that truly sealed the deal.

I dunno but reading this just makes me mad, the severity of it all could've been avoided. This is not just a hindsight thing either, I remember a lot of people really questioning the decision to let him play again, but I guess it's questionable if that high-stick made things worse in the long run. I believe it was reported he had quite severe concussion symptoms just months before the klinkhammer hit aswell.

In situations like these I really think the league and team should be held responsible. Franzen was a true warrior that wanted to play the game and help the team, but the medical staff should've stepped in sooner. At the end of the day it was the medical team who cleared him to play after all.

Its really really tough. In theory I agree with what you are saying, but if the player wants to play, and doctors are saying he is good to go, what right does a team have to tell a player "no". I remember back in 2015 thinking it was a bad idea coming back, but if you are creating policy on how to handle concussions, you can't say "if the player is good, and docs clear him, the team can veto based on gut feeling" it has to be a protocol based on testing and expert opinion.

Its hard because not every player is the same. in damage done. Look at Crosby, he had similar issues to Franzen, but is an example of a player coming out on the other end of the spectrum (knock on wood). Some people said he should never play again after suffering those back to back concussions. With that being said, Franzen was more of an extreme, and the real question to ask is how the hell did Franzen pass testing back i 2015, finding how, and ideally making sure that someone like him won't pass. Was something overlooked? Was something ignored?

Hopefully they come out with a test soon that can test for CTE and damage done to the brain while a person is still alive. I know they are close based on what Chris Nowitski's organization is working on, so hopefully its sooner then later.

Also, a big question to ask is who is determining if the player is cleared. If it is a team doctor that is influenced by the team, that is a huge problem. If its a collection of expert docs that have no outside influence, then I think you have to go with the docs. I can't see the Wings forcing a player to play though, if anything I think it was likely Franzen pushing to be cleared saying he was fine.

Its tricky, I'm glad I'm not the NHL on this.