


NHL
Thomas: Concussion damage debilitating
Tim Thomas said Thursday his post-concussion syndrome symptoms were so severe he couldn’t make basic decisions and his brain wasn’t functioning well enough to even watch hockey.
In his first public appearance since retiring in 2014, the former goaltender said a scan taken after he retired showed that two-thirds of his brain was getting less than 5% blood flow and the other third was getting less than 50%.
“I wake up every day and basically have to reorder everything in my mind for the first couple hours and then make a list and try to make some choices to get some stuff done,” Thomas, 45, said before being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Thomas won the Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins and was named playoff MVP. He played parts of 10 NHL seasons.
“It taught me a value for life and a value for my brain that I’ve never had before,” Thomas said.