When BKFC flyweight champion Christine Ferea received a name virtually a decade in the past about taking part in a mind well being examine involving fighters, she was simply on the lookout for some fast money.
On the time, she was struggling to make ends meet, so the promise of an additional few hundred {dollars} simply to get an MRI and another scans completed by the Cleveland Clinic appeared like an awesome deal. Little did she know that the mind well being examine offered her with a lot perception that she’s remained a part of this system ever since, present process yearly updates offered by her docs to make sure she’s nonetheless cognitively match to compete.
“I didn’t know what it was at first, and I went in and so they do a mind scan on you, and it lets you already know in case your cognitive [function] is getting tousled, in case your mind is broken from the hits,” Ferea informed MMA Combating. “The primary one is sort of a two-hour scan, after which each three years they do the two-hour scan, after which I do [another scan] yearly.
“They let me know if I’m cognitively declining, if my mind is declining, if there’s mind injury accumulating. They do a number of cognitive exams, steadiness, so many alternative issues to verify [I’m healthy].”
Ferea admits she didn’t actually concern herself with long-term well being when she first turned concerned with preventing as a result of she was simply doing one thing that she liked. She additionally displayed unbelievable coronary heart and sturdiness throughout lots of her fights throughout a number of fight sports activities, however that additionally meant she took plenty of injury alongside the best way.
As soon as she received concerned with the mind well being examine, Ferea began to see the advantages of understanding what impact the repeated blows to the pinnacle had been having on her. It was a wake-up name that serves as a continuing reminder that she will’t battle without end.
“Now I don’t must marvel,” Ferea defined. “Am I getting tousled? Am I taking too many hits? How am I going to affected down the highway? As a result of I’ve a gathering with the physician after each MRI and the cognitive [testing] and all that sort of testing, after which they learn the outcomes, after which I meet with him proper after. He runs down every part for me, he’ll inform me. I belief him. It’s good to not marvel what I’m doing to my mind yearly.
“If I’m beginning to decline, I’m quitting. Interval. I’m not messing with my mind. If I break bones, if my again hurts, my shoulder, if that hurts I nonetheless care about that, however not as a lot as my mind.”
Ferea’s dedication to the examine is so robust that she’s already planning on donating her mind to science after her loss of life as a result of there’s a lot data that docs can solely retrieve autopsy.
Particularly, power traumatic encephalopathy — higher generally known as CTE — can solely be detected in examinations completed throughout an post-mortem.
“I undoubtedly will give my mind to the examine,” Ferea stated. “It’s not like I must maintain it or anybody else must maintain it.”
Whereas long-term mind well being has remained extremely essential to her, particularly after getting concerned with Cleveland Clinic, Ferea handled a state of affairs not too long ago that hit a bit too near residence.
Again in Could, Ferea was scheduled to face former boxing champion and Bellator veteran Heather Hardy in a BKFC title battle. Simply days earlier than they had been scheduled to satisfy, Hardy dropped out of the battle and revealed that her profession was possible over as a result of quantity of head trauma she suffered all through her profession.
“After lastly seeing a health care provider, he stated I’ve had too many concussions,” Hardy stated in a sobering social media submit. “When you’ve a concussion, a chunk of your mind dies and also you by no means get it again. Think about that? In 10 years I’ve had an excessive amount of mind injury. I can’t get any extra or else I gained’t have the ability to see. No working, no jogging, no leaping rope, and no getting hit within the head.”
Listening to that served as a harsh reminder to Ferea that no quantity of toughness or grit can prevent from one thing as critical as mind injury.
After Hardy made that submit, which successfully served as a retirement announcement, Ferea reached out in an try to attach her with the identical docs she’s been working with for the higher a part of the previous decade.
“It’s very, very scary,” Ferea stated of Hardy’s state of affairs. “I’m the kind of individual, I’ve a chin so I can take plenty of injury. I’ll sit there and take it like no matter, it doesn’t have an effect on me. That’s the sort of fighter Heather was. She’ll take plenty of injury as a result of she has plenty of coronary heart and a excessive ache tolerance. That actually places you in test when it comes to being robust and simply taking shot.
“You’ve received to be accountable regardless that you’re taking part in protection and you may take the hits and stuff like that.”
Now Ferea overtly states that her dedication to long-term mind well being hasn’t modified the best way she fights as a result of that might be a detriment to her profession.
That stated, the 41-year-old veteran guarantees if she ever finds out that her cognitive operate has been compromised, she’ll retire on the spot.
“You’ve received to have a bit little bit of that ‘f*ck it’ [attitude] as a result of you’ll be able to’t go in there too cautious,” Ferea stated. “For those who’re too cautious, you’re not going to carry out proper otherwise you’re going to hesitate. You will get knocked out hesitating.
“If it will get dangerous, I’m going to cease. I really like this with all my coronary heart and I really like being champion and I really like competing and I really like dominating individuals, however it’s not value not with the ability to converse my title or not with the ability to bear in mind my household and all that.”
