Reimer Injury

[RedLeaf]

I was really hoping they were keeping him out of games and off the ice for precautionary measures, which could still be the case, I guess. Altough thats looking more and more unlikely. The question i have is this. If they are unsure about the degree of his injury, why has he not been placed on the IR? He was not on the ice again for today's practise, which tells me it has to be more than a cautionary thing, as the need for his return has never been greater than it is right now.

He's been on the IR for almost two weeks now.

My bad. I didn't know he was on the IR.

RedLeaf ruined by the GreenLeaf?

Seriously. It better be RedBud if we're going there.

[cw]

After reading this, not good news:

Tor Star: Reimer's mom starting to worry about son's head injury

"I asked him on the weekend, 'When do you think you'll be back?' He said, 'I have no idea.' And now he's been out so long that, by the time he's ready to go back, he's going to need to do a lot of conditioning and he's going to have to do a lot of practicing. It's not like, 'Today I feel fine. Let me take the net.' I'm sure it will be a slow road back," Marlene Reimer said. "We're worried, for sure. But really, with a concussion, it's so much a wait-and-see. One day he'll say he hasn't had the headaches and you think, 'Oh, yes. Maybe he'll be back this weekend.' The next day he says, if he's going on a 1 to 10 scale (where 10 is perfect health), he'll say it was a 3. So you wait for the next day."
(article has more details)

From that, I don't think James will be back anytime soon.  :(

[Significantly Insignificant]

After reading this, not good news:

Tor Star: Reimer's mom starting to worry about son's head injury

"I asked him on the weekend, 'When do you think you'll be back?' He said, 'I have no idea.' And now he's been out so long that, by the time he's ready to go back, he's going to need to do a lot of conditioning and he's going to have to do a lot of practicing. It's not like, 'Today I feel fine. Let me take the net.' I'm sure it will be a slow road back," Marlene Reimer said. "We're worried, for sure. But really, with a concussion, it's so much a wait-and-see. One day he'll say he hasn't had the headaches and you think, 'Oh, yes. Maybe he'll be back this weekend.' The next day he says, if he's going on a 1 to 10 scale (where 10 is perfect health), he'll say it was a 3. So you wait for the next day."
(article has more details)

From that, I don't think James will be back anytime soon.  :(

Is Reimer's mother a Dr.?

[Madferret]

After reading this, not good news:

Tor Star: Reimer's mom starting to worry about son's head injury

"I asked him on the weekend, 'When do you think you'll be back?' He said, 'I have no idea.' And now he's been out so long that, by the time he's ready to go back, he's going to need to do a lot of conditioning and he's going to have to do a lot of practicing. It's not like, 'Today I feel fine. Let me take the net.' I'm sure it will be a slow road back," Marlene Reimer said. "We're worried, for sure. But really, with a concussion, it's so much a wait-and-see. One day he'll say he hasn't had the headaches and you think, 'Oh, yes. Maybe he'll be back this weekend.' The next day he says, if he's going on a 1 to 10 scale (where 10 is perfect health), he'll say it was a 3. So you wait for the next day."
(article has more details)

From that, I don't think James will be back anytime soon.  :(

They actually interviewed his mom? Wow.

[Michael]

I agree with wow and yet that's likely the best and most succinct update we have received to date.

[Madferret]

I agree with wow and yet that's likely the best and most succinct update we have received to date.

Nice of the Leafs to let Mrs. Reimer handle the media for them for the day.
Was Crosby's mom / family ever intruded on like this over the past 10 months?

[Michael]

The Leafs seem like they are able to keep the whole organization quiet on this concussion, but Mrs. Reiner well that's another story.

I don't know how this "interview" came about, but we cannot just assume that they called her out of the blue.

[Madferret]

The Leafs seem like they are able to keep the whole organization quiet on this concussion, but Mrs. Reiner well that's another story.

I don't know how this "interview" came about, but we cannot just assume that they called her out of the blue.

Yeah maybe they "bumped" into her while they were going through their garbage.

[bustaheims]

The Leafs seem like they are able to keep the whole organization quiet on this concussion, but Mrs. Reiner well that's another story.

That's probably because, you know, she's also speculating.

Straight from the horse's mouth:

"That's the frustrating part for us — not knowing what it is, and why they're not calling it a concussion when they say 'concussion-like symptoms,'" Marlene Reimer said. "Like, how is that not a concussion? ... The initial test showed him to be clear of a concussion."

So, basically, she's assuming "concussion-like symptoms" means he has a concussion, even though the tests showed he did not.

[Michael]

So what, I'm the only one who does not believe the Leafs?

[pnjunction]

Marlene said James, 23, has had "several" concussions

My only reaction to this is despair.  :(

[Madferret]

So what, I'm the only one who does not believe the Leafs?

I wouldn't be surprised if Reimer demanded a trade over this. Not James either, Marlene.

[bustaheims]

So what, I'm the only one who does not believe the Leafs?

Well, there's no actual, legitimate evidence that provides reason to not believe them, unless you really want to believe there's a conspiracy here. There are a number of things that could have resulted from the blow Reimer suffered that would keep him out this long - a concussion is only one potential explanation, not the sole explanation, and, with serious level of concern the league has expressed towards preventing further concussions, I don't see why the Leafs would have any reason to lie if Reimer had suffered one.

[RedLeaf]

This Leafs goaltending picture gets bleaker and bleaker every day. Now we find out Reimers had a history of concussions, and that he could be out much longer than any of us anticipated? Add that to the debacle of the backups and suddenly the Leafs are in real trouble here.

[cw]

So what, I'm the only one who does not believe the Leafs?

Players take neuropsych type tests prior to the season to get a benchmark of their abilities in that area. After a potential concussion, they take another test to compare the results. If there is a distinguishable difference in performance, it tends to reinforce a diagnosis of a concussion. According to Reimer's mother, "The initial test showed him to be clear of a concussion."

So if you don't believe the Leafs, do you believe Reimer's own mother? Or do you think James would lie to her about the results? If you think that, please provide the plausible motive and explain why he'd go on to rate himself a 3 out of 10 some days.

As I've said before, there's no blood test for this diagnosis.

Articles and recent studies like this:
http://www.ucalgary.ca/knes/news/nhlconcussion
and this
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=nc-cotsonika-cte_concussions_questions_110211
and many other recent examples illustrate how much they don't know about concussions.

And what we're finding out with Reimer's injury is that folks are so ignorant about this potential condition in Reimer's case (it could be whiplash or something else), they don't even realize how little is really known about it or how tricky it is to nail down a definite diagnosis or prognosis.

But somehow, the Leafs are supposed to be able to do something the doctors cannot always do reliably at this point in time.