Horrifying for anyone to see their loved one barely surviving.

Specific details about how he wanted his funeral to be, and his demand that he be cremated, were brought up with excruciating frequency. One particularly dark time, he went five days without eating anything; he drank only water and a few swigs of chocolate milk. He was suffering deeply and barely surviving. My love and affection seemed to offer no comfort or solace. I felt helpless.

Seems we still don't have a good understanding of brain damage or CTE.

The examining clinician found that “repeated concussion is very likely to have caused Mr. Kelly’s neuropsychological dysfunction,” and also that his prior alcohol abuse may have been a factor. But he has not had a single drop of alcohol for eight years, and his condition continues to deteriorate.

Its great that he has a wife who is taking care of him, and is receiving some form of monetary payment for the rest of his life.

So we were relieved when, in January 2013, we were told that the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle N.F.L. player retirement plan and supplemental disability plan had awarded him total and permanent disability benefits. His benefits were listed as “degenerative,” which establishes that his “disability arises out of league football activities” and had manifested within 15 years of his last season. He is entitled to monthly payments for the rest of his life. (These payments are separate from the estimated $1 billion settlement of concussion-related lawsuits with thousands of retired players to which we have registered.)

I do hope there will be a point where Rob Kelly can return to some normalcy in life with his wife and children.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/opinion/sunday/nfl-cte-brain-damage.html