NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Frank Wycheck expected the diagnosis his family recently got.
 
In February of 2017, he said he was certain he had CTE.
 
Thursday morning his family announced that Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center confirmed Wycheck’s brain tested positive for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Stage III. Stage IV is the worst.
 
For those of us who counted Wycheck as a friend, the news is a relief. Finding out he had what he thought he had frames and explains a lot of his post-football life.
 
Hearing his daughters in their statements talk about it bringing them understanding and perhaps some peace gives me a good feeling. I imagine it will have the same effect on others who knew him and many who didn't but rooted for him.  
 
“After my father's retirement from professional football, our family faced challenges in understanding the physical and mental changes he was experiencing,” Deanna Wycheck Szabo said. “We initially believed it was simply an inability to adjust to ‘normal’ life after the intensity of being a professional athlete. We witnessed our father becoming increasingly isolated and experiencing drastic mood swings. He became more impulsive, and often inconsistent and undependable.

“At the time, I mistakenly attributed his struggles to missing the spotlight and camaraderie of his playing days. But now in hindsight, I understand that he was suffering from the symptoms of CTE due to the repeated trauma his brain and body endured over 11 seasons in the NFL. My father put his body on the line throughout his career. He loved the game and even more so loved his teammates. After retirement, he fought for years to bring light to his post-NFL journey and the fears he had around his struggles and symptoms that he knew whole-heartedly was CTE. He often felt forgotten and ignored, and that his situation was helpless.  
 
“Reflecting back, I wish our family had been educated on the signs and symptoms of CTE. Instead of believing that something was inherently wrong with him, we now know he was doing the best he could as a father and friend under circumstances beyond his control.”
 
What an incredibly sad setting for Szabo and her sister, Madison Wycheck Nowell. I can’t imagine what it was like for them to watch him, their dad, way more closely than we did, and come to terms with all that. 
 
And it seems like this will offer them some additional closure since his death from a fall on Dec. 9, 2023.
 
“When my dad retired, I worried about him every day. I never knew if he was eating, drinking enough water, making it to important appointments, or doing anything else that a healthy-minded person would do during an average day,” Nowell said. “This went on for years as we knew his health was in rapid decline. My dad explained Frank Wycheckthat it felt like his brain had a thick brick wall inside that stopped his will to follow through with anything, no matter what it was or who was involved. Regardless of his CTE symptoms, I will always believe that God intervened to allow him the opportunity to enjoy our weddings, his grandkids, and all other things he truly wanted to be a part of before he left us. 
 
“If one thing could come of this diagnosis, I pray that families all over the world would consider my dad’s story as a cautionary tale regarding the long-term consequences of repetitive brain trauma in athletes and to carefully think about their careers in professional contact sports. 
 
“This is a disease that began affecting my dad very early in his life, and I believe played a significant part in taking him way too soon. My hope is that with increased awareness, research, and advocacy for player safety, we can help fellow families of minor and professional athletes continue to thrive, not only during their careers, but after playing the sport they love so they can continue to share their legacies with generations to come.”

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