DARLINGTON, S.C. – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s concussion-like symptoms were so severe when he first visited the University of Pittsburgh’s concussion program that Dr. Micky Collins said Sunday his primary objective was to see the third-generation driver “become a human being again”.
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Gordon will take his spot in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
There’s also the matter of having faith in Dr. Collins and his team at UPMC, as well as Charlotte neurosurgeon Dr. It’s a different set of skills than any of us have. He has been very diligent about doing his therapies and …we are seeing the benefits of that.
“My goal was to see Dale become a human being again and I can tell you with confidence that is occurring in front of our eyes”.
Cognitive issues or thinking problems.
“The systems that are injured for Dale are the systems that make Dale Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt – his ability to sustain focus and stabilize his vision when he moves his head and interpret complex visual information”.
“I definitely don’t belong in a race vehicle today by any stretch of the imagination”, Earnhardt said in the wake of Friday’s announcement that he would sit out the rest of the year while recovering from a concussion suffered at MI in June.
“I definitely don’t want to go into Daytona cold turkey”, Earnhardt said. I’m as good as I have ever been inside the vehicle.
“We went through this process in 2012, it was very scary and hard”.
Dr. Collins said the removal of the stress of worrying about when and if he would return to the track this season – actually made August 24 – has already accelerated Earnhardt’s recovery. In 2012, he had two concussions six weeks apart that forced him to miss two races.
“He (Earnhardt) is like a member of the family”, Hendrick said.
Collins said he treated Earnhardt in 2012 and some of the findings in regards to the current injury were different and more extensive. “The worse thing I can do is sit on the couch”. I certainly feel the same way. And drivers must get a medical release before returning to the auto if they are diagnosed. He also noted he was now completing all of his sponsor requirements and appearances.
“I had some of the greatest years and racing experiences of my career shortly after that”.
“The first four or five weeks were very hard”, said Earnhardt. “I feel like I’m still an asset to the team and to the company”. “I’m feeling better every day”. He described Sunday “going to Target or somewhere and I have symptoms and might stumble across an aisle or need more sidewalk than a normal guy”. “But I’ve got to put myself through those situations for that to sort of correct itself”.
Earnhardt credits his fiancé Amy Reimann with helping him and is optimistic for the future.
First, the decision not to clear Earnhardt medically for the remainder of the 2016 season was both prudent and necessary; and second, Earnhardt is committed to racing again at NASCAR’s highest levels with the support of medical professionals who believe he will be able to do so.
Earnhardt doesn’t consider retirement an option.
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“I have a passion and desire to drive and I enjoy it”. “I enjoy it. My heart is there to continue”.
