USED
Seven months after the unexpected death of former Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas, Boston University doctors have revealed that Thomas suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in phase 2 at the end of his life, according to The New York Times. Doctors and the family previously indicated that Thomas died of a seizure from a car accident in 2019, but the degenerative brain disease contributed to “increasingly erratic” behavior ahead of time, reports Ken Belson.
The last year of Thomas’ life was “marked by the loss of memory, paranoia, and isolation that are the hallmarks of CTE,” Belson wrote, citing those close to the late recipient. The Boston University medical team agreed Tuesday with the previous consensus that Thomas probably died due to complications from his car accident, noting that the seizures “attacked with little or no warning and led to Thomas to smash other cars and fall down steps “. But the former first-round pick, who announced his retirement from the NFL a few months before his death, had the family worried about his well-being even before the convulsions began in 2020.
“He had two different conditions in parallel,” Dr. Ann McKee, a neurologist and leading authority on CTE, told The Times.
Katina Smith, Thomas’ mother, revealed that the former Broncos star informed her after retiring that “her peripheral vision was diminished,” while her father, Bobby Thomas, told The Times that the receiver’s paranoia “grew to the point that he never left home. without a gun.” About a year before his death, according to Belson, Thomas’ plans for a possible NFL resurgence were highlighted amid growing dependence on medical care, such as anticonvulsant drugs, ozone therapy and chamber treatment. hyperbaric.
Thomas retired as one of the most productive receivers of his time, with a total of 9,763 yards received in 11 seasons leaving Georgia Tech. One of Peyton Manning’s favorite targets during the 2015 Denver Super Bowl, he ended his career with more than a dozen record-breaking franchises.