May 2, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 8 comments
While at the gym during a conditioning session this week, Indianapolis Alleycat and the AUDL’s leading goal scorer Cameron Brock suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a rare brain trauma that is often life-threatening.
Fortunately, CT scans and angiograms have been negative for an aneurysm, and doctors cautiously expect Brock to return to the field after missing four to six weeks.
“I was doing 400 [meter] repeats on a treadmill, and I was on my last one,” Brock told Ultiworld. “I was just about finished with it and I felt this sharp pain in my right temple area. It kind of came out of nowhere, so I went and got some aspirin.” But, he explained, the pain didn’t go away, so he went to a doctor the next morning. They scheduled a CT scan, which determined early yesterday that Brock had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), bleeding in the area surrounding the brain.
This type of hemorrhage is a kind of stroke — nearly half of cases are fatal. Many that have an SAH also have seizures and long-term health complications.
Brock, however, showed no signs of aneurysm on follow-up angiograms. He also had no major symptoms aside from the headache. “[The doctors] all assumed I passed out or had a seizure, but I was fully conscious and drove home,” said Brock.
That significantly improves his prognosis. He is also an extremely rare case — a young, healthy male coming down with SAH is almost unheard of. Most cases are in older populations.
“The doctors told me every step of the way that I was the healthiest person they had ever worked on for this issue,” said Brock.
Doctors believe that the cause was genetic — that, at some point, this was going to happen. While the exercise “could have been what triggered the time bomb,” in Brock’s words, it wasn’t the underlying issue.
For now, Brock has to rest. He is only allowed to walk for the next four weeks, and he has been told not to lift anything heavier than ten pounds. He will have another angiogram next week. “As long as that turns up negative, then I’ll be on the right track to start playing again,” said Brock. “I fully expect to be back on the field in four and a half weeks.”
The Alleycats will miss Brock, who has emerged as their star. He leads the AUDL in goals per game (9.33) and is the lynchpin of their offensive attack. He will still attend practice and plans to travel with the team to Chicago this week as they again face the Windy City Wildfire.
Brock said fans and players have been extremely supportive on his Facebook and Twitter accounts. All in all, he feels good and is eager to get back to work.
“I felt like everyone else was more worried about me than I was worried about myself,” he said. “I never really felt like I was in any danger.”
