Houston linebacker Jeff Tarpinian revealed that he is playing football two years removed from brain surgery.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Tarpinian “was placed on season-ending injured reserve Nov. 24, 2011, as a Patriots rookie” after seven promising games due to what was then described as a “head injury.”
Tarpinian suddenly blacked out for 30 seconds after practice in 2011, and “several weeks of heart and brain tests finally discovered the culprit for Tarpinian’s sudden post-practice blackout – a 30-second void when his eyes blurred, arms locked up and everything stopped – the diagnosis of a cavernous malformation.”
“I’d never had an issue at all,” Tarpinian said. “I’d never had anything wrong with my brain – that’s something I never even thought about.”
The initial three days after the operation were worthless. Tarpinian was hollow, as his body attempted to figure out what had happened. For a month, he did nothing. No exercise, no rehab, just silent recovery. But the real gut punch was delivered when he looked in the mirror.
As for the cut?