Tragic update on beloved Bruin Lyndon Byers nearly 1 year after his passing.
· Yahoo Sports
Visit saltysenoritaaz.org for more information.
I once again have some very sad news to deliver.
Almost one year ago I covered the tragic passing of former Boston Bruins enforcer Lyndon Byers. Byers, who was better known simply as "LB" by those who loved him, was beloved in the city of Boston and that much was evident when the outpouring of love and support came flooding in following the news of his untimely death. Byers was only 61 years old at the time.
This past week, just a little over a month away from the one year anniversary of his death, researchers at the UNITE Brain Bank at the Boston University CTE Center revealed that Byers had in fact been dealing with CTE prior to his passing. The researchers diagnosed him with Stage 3 CTE,
Stage 3 is the second most severe case, only second to Stage 4, and Stage 3 is characterized by memory impairment, executive dysfunctions, trouble planning, organizing, multitasking and regulating self-control.
Anne Byers, LB's widow, released a statement in conjunction with the announcement in which she described her pain. Rather than being broken by that pain however, Anne is using it as motivation to become an advocate so that no one else ever experiences what she and her husband went through together.
"It was hard to see his personality change so dramatically," said Anne Byers in the release. "He was so fun and vibrant but towards the end it got to the point where didn't want to socialize or even leave the house. He battled severe depression, had episodes of hallucinations, and his struggles with short-term memory loss made it difficult for him to navigate the day on his own. I will do whatever I can to make sure nobody else has to watch their loved one deteriorate like that."
Anne also called on the National Hockey League to do more to protect the players in their game in an effort to prevent this from happening in the future.
"The NHL can do better to protect its players' safety," said Anne Byers. "Athletes deserve to know what head injuries can do so they can make informed decisions about their bodies and work in an environment that supports their health first."
It's heartbreaking that both LB and Anne suffered as a result of this terrible disease, and I can only hope that their brave decision to donate LB's brain to science can help prevent any other families from living through this nightmare in the future.