BFritz

People argued with me when I suggested that they were down and just said that they will be back with some magical fix, but couldn't offer anything more. Why would anyone other than a Highlands make this thread that was an attempt at mocking mine? You think that I'll have it thrown back at me because you think CovCath will be down or that Highlands will rebound? That would be entirely false. We didn't have a lot of money growing up when my oldest brother went there or even too much when other brother started there. I went to school there with a lot of kids whose families didn't have much money. My dad's family was dirt-poor and he went there (although some people on here apparently think my parents didn't have to work much for what they had and were owed nothing after what happened to me). It's just people spending their money on the important things, like a quality education for their kids. There are also ways to pay for it, as some people said, like the work program and other things.

No one ever believed that they were down, but I started a thread called "The Downfall of Highlands," so someone (I think and assume it was a Highlands fan) made this thread in an attempt to mock me, but it was just a huge fail. Meanwhile, in Fort Thomas.............

I know and that's why I've been looking into it and finding cases of it working, but I just can't find much specific on how I'd get into contact or where or anything like that. They do have less regulations, but it's also not like they're just performing experiments and some people are coming out with twelve fingers or no liver. They're still a sophisticated country and not going to just put me in a room with a surgeon that got his education from watching a "Hot To" video and say "best of luck!" I'm doing my due diligence and making sure it's all safe and in-line, which is another reason why I'm asking on here and on another blog and I will on Facebook at some point. I'm just gathering all the information I can so that I can make an informed decision (with my family) and find the best places for this. I do appreciate the words because I know that you're just looking out for me, but trust me when I tell you that my family wouldn't just allow me to go do something unless it was full-proof on the safety side (being from Beechwood, I realize that you might know my family since we lived on Sunnymede and then Cambridge when I was growing up until 7th grade).

Anyone have any info on stem cell treatments for traumatic brain injuries in Germany? I've done some research about prices and things and even filled out a question/answer form on one hospital's website with some questions that I have but I haven't heard anything back. I'm wondering where I could get it done, what I would need to do to be approved for it, how I apply, the cost, etc.. Any help would be VERY MUCH appreciated! (Stem cells used for this type of thing would come from things like bone marrow, blood plasma, etc.)

That was the year of the wreck and they were also #22 in the nation (I believe). I pointed that out years ago but someone said they St X was sitting some of their starters. We started out that year on fire with the first two games, then lost three straight, then the wreck happened, and then it went all downhill.

In what way?! In actually getting my jersey retired or the ceremony at the game or what?!

You better believe that no one will be taking a knee.......... This is my favorite game of the year on any level because the triple option is the best form of football to watch or play. I could only ever find one coach growing up that would let me run it. Actually, my freshman year of high school, the team we were scrimmaging ran the triple option, so I was running it on the scout team all week and, with a bunch of scrubs (all the good juniors and sophomores were playing varsity and there was a HUGE drop-off in talent) I scored 4 or 5 times running it because I would read the end perfectly and then they'd always bite on my fake pitches and then I'd just cut it under them or run around them. Once I was in the open field, no one was tackling me! On the 6th (or so) time I scored, I high stepped once I was past everyone, which was a bad move because the upperclassmen got so POed that every play after that was "forget your job and forget going after the ball..... just hit Fritz." :lol2::laugh: Oh well!

LOVE IT!

Thanks, I thought about that and even thought that maybe they're not responding right away because, like you said, they're looking into my case and realizing that what I said was right in that a committee who had no interaction with me and just looked at how much of my brain I'm missing without looking at my case subjectively and seeing that I'm perfect for this. It might just be hope, but what else do I have if I don't have hope?

I'm not even too sure and, like I said, it doesn't make much sense to me. When they were showing me where they were going to drill into my skull and insert the stem cells (yeah, we were THAT far into the process), they were showing pointing to spots on my head on the right side, mainly the middle but also a few on towards the back and a few towards the front (I think they were going to drill seven total holes and inject stem cells). They were looking to just see improvements in physical abilities, but, like I said, I think the committee just looked at my brain scan and assumed that my brain wasn't functioning much at all so they weren't going to waste the physical improvements on me. Honestly, I have no clue. I've emailed the girl three times, with the first one asking why I was declined, the second one wondering if I could just pay to get the treatment (I don't think I'd have much trouble at all raising money to be in it because I have had so much support from everyone in so many different places for this), and then the third one asking if they thought I hadn't been doing the required exercises (they put a monitor on my ankle to make sure I was walking for ten minutes a day and other exercises, which I was, but I was walking up and back in a hallway or across a short walkway in a gym, so maybe it wasn't registering that I was walking far enough, which seems unlikely, but never know). I'm hoping to hear back but it's been a few days since the first one, so I'm hoping maybe she's checking with her superiors because she's seeing how dedicated I am and how perfect I am for this treatment. It's a long shot, but I'm not giving up. I'm already much better than I was and I'll only be stronger. This won't break me, but I'm not giving up yet. I do appreciate the words. Thanks. I'm not quitting on this yet, but I'm 100% better than I was yesterday and I'm ready to keep battling :thumb:

Not sure if anyone saw the news tonight or has seen anything about it on Facebook, but I was rejected from the stem cell trial. It blows me away because I was in the final stage and I thought I was already guaranteed to be in. They said the reason that I was rejected was because I'm missing parts of my brain in different areas and they only want to see if it will improve physical abilities, and I don't understand that because, yes, I'm missing parts that normally control most of the mental abilities, but my mental parts of my brain still function relatively well. I also don't agree with that decision because it was made by a group of people who weren't involved in any of the evaluation process and probably just looked at my brain scan and assumed that I'm a vegetable since I'm missing so much of my brain. I'm not giving up on this, so I've sent emails looking for answers, and we're going to search for similar treatments or see if there's any way that we could possibly raise money and just pay to be in the study. I do appreciate all the prayers and well-wishes, but just thought that I should give everyone an update.

Highlands has been down ever since Dale left........ will be interesting to see if they can get back to that. Meanwhile, our program is only getting stronger. And you say classy like there's a problem with me celebrating an amazing football play. It wasn't about Gibson being hurt but it was about the football play.

It's not about cheering for an injury. I would be cheering and applauding that hit if Gibson had gotten up with nothing wrong with him. The intensity of the game and the intensity of the hit fit the magnitude of that game going down in history as one of the greatest ever played.

LOVE IT! That's how football's supposed to be played!

CCH goes undefeated, has possibly the best team in state history, but had to travel an hour last game and three hours this game to play. Some things are so stupid that they make me feel like having a traumatic brain injury isn't so bad.

At what point does Pfeiffer knock out Gibson? That's the best part!

Everything I remember said he could, he just never had the opportunity, like I said. I remember him tossing balls at least 50 yards downfield in perfect spirals without much air- just a bit higher than bullets. Until I moved to safety at the end of my freshman season (his junior year), I was his backup and experienced up-close how amazing his arm was.

Dietz never really had big play receivers, especially his senior year, so he really didn't get to display his arm strength or big play/deep ball ability. The day of the wreck, they moved me to receiver, so I'd be playing both ways, which I could have been the deep threat he needed, and Brett always says that he would have gone D1 if I hadn't gotten hurt and ended up being the deep threat that he thought I could be. Not a big deal and I don't dwell on "what ifs," but that's another one that does bug me because it had an impact on other people (as did most of what happened). Here's the only play of my life that I ever played receiver (I only played one freshmen game and we put it in as a trick play), and not too spectacular, but just the way that I go up and get the ball gives you some idea: Dietz had potential to be the best, but right now it's AJ, hands down.

How can you even consider them the best when they didn't even win state in '97? Furthermore, it's not like they were even that good outside of Lorenzen and Smith. Lorenzen would run around in the pocket and was too big to be taken down, and then would just launch the ball 60 yards downfield to Smith or any other receiver that just had to run downfield and catch the ball. I realize that it's not like anyone can do that, but it's also not like it takes a whole lot of skill when your QB can out-throw an entire defense.

I appreciate it. Any improvement is very much welcome, and I'm not going to be upset regardless, but I'm never going to stop trying to better myself, physically and mentally.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH! Sounds like a done deal and like it will happen next month. One thing I was kind of bummed about is I was hoping it would help my memory, logic, and everything else that made me smart before the wreck, but they said that only my motor skills, specifically walking and use of my arms, would be improved because that's where they're injecting the stem cells. The area that controls speech is near the area that they're injecting, so hopefully it improves there also, and who knows because this is so new that maybe the stem cells will spread to everywhere. Regardless, I keep pointing out that I was never expecting this, so nothing lost if it doesn't work at all or even just a little bit because I love my life as-is!

I appreciate it VERY MUCH!

The final steps in the stem cell process before actual treatment are tomorrow in Columbus. I keep saying it's just technicalities to make the study official because it's just being evaluated by doctors and therapists and getting a physical. There's a Mass in the morning for my cousin, Kenny, that fell off an overpass when I was in the second grade and was in a coma for three years before dying, so I'm going to that to try and get a few extra prayers in. I love my life as-is, so this isn't going to make or break me, but I'm getting nervous because this would be unreal. I'd VERY MUCH appreciate some thoughts and prayers!

Never do :thumb:

Trust me........ you can't even begin to imagine what it's like. I never cry, not even at funerals, but I've cried so many times at random moments over this. On that note, I need to go to the gym to walk up the stairs, across the hallway, and back down to try and make sure my body is in good shape (I've been working out three to seven times a week for years, but a few more can't hurt).