No head games, please

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/10/2009 (5842 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Terrence Edwards knew the potential consequences when he signed up for this. Football, after all, is a violent, collision sport and every once in awhile a guy can get caught with his guard down.

It happened to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers slotback three weeks ago in Montreal when he was lit up by Alouettes linebacker Shea Emry while running a pass route in which the ball went elsewhere. Emry was fined by the CFL for the illegal hit, but it was Edwards who has paid the much higher price by having to suffer through several days of post-concussion symptoms.

And what’s especially frightening — more than the lingering headaches, the dizziness or balance problems — is the blank spot a hit like that can leave in the memory banks.

Edwards, you see, was down for several minutes after the hit. When he awoke, he saw teammates and members of the Alouettes gathered around him praying for his recovery, but to this day still has no recollection of what happened.

And that tends to rattle a guy to the core.

"It’s scary," Edwards said this week. "I don’t know what happened. I lost a little part of my life that I’ll never get back. After I came to and realized that I didn’t remember things… to me, that’s the scary part."

Here’s the good news: Edwards was given clearance to return to the practice field on Thursday and will return to the starting lineup for Monday’s critical second-place showdown with the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton. The time off was not only valuable to deal with the after-effects of his concussion, but also allowed him to heal a lingering turf-toe problem and work with the new batch of receivers who stepped up during his absence.

That’s the silver-lining approach he’s taking to the whole experience now. Living through it all, however, is a hell he wouldn’t wish upon his worst enemy.

"I don’t think anybody wants to be in the situation where they’ve had head trauma or some sort of injury to the head," said Edwards, who suffered his first concussion in 2003 while with the Atlanta Falcons. "I had headaches, balance problems. There was sadness and emotional highs and lows. There was (a reaction) to light, sleeplessness… there were a lot of things. But for me, it was the emotional stuff. Some days I’d be up, some days I’d be down, and it lingered for three or four days.

"I slept a little bit more. The doctor told me I’d be fatigued as the body healed itself. But now I feel good. The toe feels good. It was a well-rested two weeks for me."

The Bombers, obviously, are ecstatic to have Edwards return to the lineup. He was the team’s leading receiver before the concussion and not only remains their deadliest threat in the score zone but is also the most experienced pass catcher on the roster.

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Although an experience like this can sometimes change a player’s perspective, Edwards remains as committed as ever to the game that is his livelihood. In other words, he’ll buckle up his chin strap and go right back into the fray in Hamilton, knowing the next hit to his head could be just as dangerous.

"I talked to the docs and we went over the medical reports and talked about the guys who, over the years, have had concussions. It’s really something you don’t want to play with," Edwards said. "That’s why I didn’t want to come back early. I told the coach, ‘I love my team; I want to be here. But I’m not going to rush myself to come back.’ I didn’t want to go back at 80-85 per cent and not be at full strength. I didn’t want to take another hit and not be able to get up or be one of those guys that couldn’t do things at later ages in life. But not playing again never crossed my mind."

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca