WASHINGTON -- Doctors told Tim Thomas that two-thirds of his brain were getting less than 5 per cent blood flow and the other third was averaging about 50 per cent.
His wife, Melissa, and oldest daughter, Kiley, started crying. Thomas didn鈥檛 react 鈥� because he couldn鈥檛 process what he was hearing.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe it because I couldn鈥檛 function well enough to understand it,鈥� he said.
Now years removed from the goaltending career and the concussions that caused so many problems, Thomas on Thursday detailed the brain damage that derailed his life. He wrestled with the positive memories of winning the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 as playoff MVP, his love of the game and the effects that playing in the NHL had on his brain.
Before being inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Thomas got choked up discussing the past several trying years and his long road to being able to talk about his problems. He is better now but still isn鈥檛 close to normal.
鈥淲hat is normal, right?鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚 wake up every day and basically I have to reorder everything in my mind for the first couple hours of the day and then make a list and try to make some choices to get some stuff done, which I鈥檝e gotten to the level that I can.鈥�
During his NHL career, Thomas was considered somewhat mercurial, which is not unusual for goaltenders. He was criticized for not visiting then-President Barack Obama at the White House with his teammates after the Bruins won the Cup.
Now 45, Thomas is still coming to grips with head injuries and one concussion from December 2013 that he said 鈥渃hanged my life.鈥�
鈥淚 woke up the next morning after it, and I couldn鈥檛 decide what I wanted to eat, where I wanted to go,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 plan a schedule. I survived by following the team schedule the rest of the year and just made it through that season.鈥�
He then hung up his skates.
Thomas struggled to communicate with anyone, let alone watch hockey, in ensuing years. He couldn鈥檛 keep up with games, and he moved with his family to the woods to get away. He didn鈥檛 talk to his former teammates or even call his father.
The brain scan occurred a year after his retirement, and his thoughts wandered to his career and the hits he took to the head.
鈥淢y rebound effect was like, this wasn鈥檛 worth it,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I was then. Where I am today is past that. I ended up learning so many lessons out of the experience. It brought me tighter with my family. It taught me a value for life and a value for my brain that I鈥檝e never had before. And I have appreciation for everything that I never had before. I don鈥檛 regret anything.鈥�
Thomas on Wednesday attended his first NHL game since retiring and got to see some old Bruins teammates and friends behind the scenes. He鈥檚 not interested in getting involved with the game again in part because he thinks of the damage it caused him.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who was inducted into the hall along with Thomas, said the league has taken steps to prevent and reduce concussions.
鈥淲e鈥檝e put a tremendous amount of effort in diagnosing protocols, return to play protocols, making sure players are educated, changing the culture of the game so that players know that it鈥檚 OK to say, 鈥業鈥檓 having symptoms,鈥欌�� Bettman said. 鈥淲e want to make sure that we鈥檙e doing everything possible, that we鈥檙e staying on top of the medicine and the science as it鈥檚 being told to us to make sure we鈥檙e diagnosing and treating appropriately.鈥�
Thomas didn鈥檛 criticize the league or the players鈥� association for the concussions or the damage they caused. He said he has spent time learning about ionized water that has improved his symptoms and turned his old competitive juices toward learning about his brain and how it functions.
It was still a struggle simply to tell his story.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to talk about this,鈥� Thomas said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to tell the world this stuff. Not till I felt ready, and I didn鈥檛 feel ready yet. But here I am.鈥�
Thomas and Bettman were joined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2019 by former NHL forward Brian Gionta, Olympian Krissy Wendell and Washington inner city hockey pioneer Neal Henderson.
