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Former NFL Player Takes on Challenges of Brain Injury with Help of League
Author: | Tuesday March 02, 2010
Gene Breen is taking the initiative and, with the help of NFL funding and the proactive approached at Communicare, Inc. in Clearwater, is putting together A Plan For Life.
Playbook for Life
Former NFL Player Battles Brain Injury with Help of League
By Ray Brasted
Gene Breen played professional football for Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers. It was Lombardi who said: "You've got to pay the price. Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing."
Now, at the age of 68, Breen is continuing to pay the price of competing for five years as a pro player with Green Bay, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Rams. Like virtually all players, he threw his body, and his head, into every play to win, not only the game, but the admiration of his coaches and the fans.
Breen is part of an early wave of players who have qualified for funding to assist athletes who have experienced brain injury symptoms, including earlier onset of cognitive difficulties which is higher in numbers than the national norm and that some studies have associated with concussions experienced on the field of play.
"I had twelve concussions that I remember," Breen said during a recent interview conducted at Communicare Inc., a brain injury treatment program in Clearwater, FL. The congenial Breen is an inpatient in the residential program where he is undergoing a comprehensive intervention to help him cope with his inability to control his impulses.
Gordon Horn, Ph.D., Director of Programs & Clinical Services and Marc Reiskind, MD, Medical Director at Communicare, have been working closely with Breen, and together they have designed a "game plan" that incorporates precise control of medications along with social and cognitive skills training, diet and physical exercise/ training.
"Gene has had to work to understand how his negative behavior impacts the lives of others. Self monitoring has been difficult for him. All of the testing we have conducted and the confrontations he has had in the community are consistent with frontal lobe syndrome," Dr. Horn said.
In Breen's football career he sustained repeated blows to his head over a long period. He played football at a time when less was known about head trauma associated with the game and "playing hurt" was just part of being a team player. If you "got your bell rung" you usually just shook it off and it was expected you would quickly get back on the playing field.
Frontal lobe syndrome represents cumulative injury resulting in damage to the frontal lobes, with each "hit" contributing to the syndrome's long term affect.
After his playing days Breen coached for a time and then sold sporting goods. His affable ways and his people pleasing demeanor made him the top salesman in his territory. But there was a mentally dark side blending with his outgoing personality that over the years manifested itself with brushes with the law and society. More and more he was overstepping boundaries of normal behavior. It all came to a head in 2004 in the Orlando area community where he and his wife Nancy lived.
"I had issues with my neighbors and one day after I drank too much alcohol I went down and threatened the President of our neighborhood association," Breen recalled in the same matter-of-fact tone that he used to describe his playing days. He was carrying a knife that day and when the police came he was placed into the local hospital for behavioral treatment.
Over the next five years Breen was able to return home and continued to be treated on an outpatient basis, but his obsessive approach to life, whether bike riding ten hours a day, or collecting various objects such as golf balls or food condiments, continued to create potential legal problems.
"Gene was engaging in punding behaviors," Dr. Horn explained. The term is used when someone engages in a seemingly normal behavior, but engages in the behavior to excess with a sense of euphoria and then rationalizes the need for the continuation of that same behavior.
For example, picking up items from the road is for purposes of keeping the road clean, but the repetitiveness of the behavior continues without understanding the risks involved such as possible risk of being hit by an oncoming vehicle.
For the last five years Dr. Horn has been working with Dr. Herndon Harding in Orlando to treat Breen and beyond that, there wasn't much else that could be done. Then along came the National Football League's "88 Plan" to help care for players diagnosed with injury related complications.
The plan was named after the number worn by Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, one of the first of the former players who qualified.
From articles written on the plan, it appears that the program was designed to help pay for the care of former players. There was little proactive about the concept, which may possibly reflects the lack of understanding of brain injury in many quarters, even today.
Communicare's approach is to provide Breen with the tools to function more normally, slow down the effects of injury and live a productive and happy life in society, not hidden from it. As such, Breen's case could become an example of how the NFL's 88 Plan funds could assist players with their needs.
"I don't believe yet that the NFL has a total grasp of what is going on," Nancy Breen told the Voice in a phone interview. She pointed out that it was just her opinion, but it comes from a very personal perspective. She and Gene have been married for 30 years and the former player says that his wife is his "rock".
For her part, Nancy Breen believes that Communicare is providing the type of program and personal care that her husband needs in order to return to the community. "I just marvel at his positive approach to his therapy in the facility. He has never missed an appointment or a therapy session or resisted treatment," she said.
Dr. Horn agreed that Breen is a very motivated patient. The former player, in turn, sees Dr. Horn as his "coach" and the relationship is productive and even enjoyable for Breen.
He produced a 16-page outline to help guide his therapy. It's title, "My Playbook for Quality of Life." The table of contents is simple and direct: Exercise for the Body and the Mind; The Connection which means putting it all together; Nutrition which is important for many reasons but in Gene's case, caffeine, sugars and carbohydrates can be a dangerous combination in high concentrations. The Conclusion, a balanced life can help lead to a happier life.
"For the spouse it is not easy," Nancy Breen said. "Communicare and Gene have the same goal and I would love it if his case helps other players and their families," she concluded.
Ed. Note: With the development of technology, increased communication and awareness, the study of long term brain injury has been moving forward. In coming issues the Voice will look at some of these developments.
Communicare Inc. is based in Clearwater, Florida and specializes in post acute neurorehabilitation through inpatient services as well as home, community and outpatient services. Visit their website at www.communicareabi.com or call 866-802-9191 to learn more about this story or their services.
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