Following a mild stroke several years ago, my doctor ordered imaging studies of my brain. These studies found evidence of bilateral brain injuries sustained from concussions when playing football when I was in high school. In the late 1950s, the helmets were less well padded, and as a second-string defensive lineman, I was a “practice dummy” for more athletically gifted teammates and competitors.

Although those injuries, unrecognized at the time, did not interfere from my graduating medical school and eventually teaching in a local medical school, my health improved substantially once I received appropriate, however belated, treatment for what is now called traumatic encephalopathy.