Corey Koskie thrilled to take field with Canadian team at WBC
Shi Davidi, THE CANADIAN PRESS 2009-03-02 20:39:00 
DUNEDIN, Fla. - Corey Koskie has repeatedly walked into doorframes over the past 2 1-2 years. He's gotten dizzy strolling through the mall. He's felt nauseous watching hockey or "24" on TV. He's gotten excruciating headaches while playing with his three boys.
That's why no player was happier than him to be at the Englebert Complex in Dunedin, Fla., where the Canadian national team gathered Monday afternoon to begin preparations for the World Baseball Classic.
As recently as last fall Koskie was simply trying to get his life back together after a severe case of post-concussion syndrome. Now he's back playing a game he loves, trying to restart a career interrupted by an innocent-looking fall to the ground July 5, 2006 while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.
He'll suit up for Canada at the tournament and then try to win a job with the Chicago Cubs, with whom he signed a minor-league deal over the weekend, things the 35-year-old used to think would never again be possible.
"I had those moments, but once I started getting a lot better I really wanted to get back to it," said Koskie. "Whatever happens after the WBC, I'm able to put closure, going down to the Cubs, I'll be able to put closure on that part of my life, or move forward (with baseball).
"That's what my biggest goal was, get down here, be able to have it more in my control hopefully, instead of going out like I did a couple of years ago and dealing with that the last 2 1-2 years."
Control is something Koskie's had very little of in his life since that fateful fall.
Doctors initially told him he'd be out a week, that the symptoms he was feeling would soon fade away. They didn't.
He'd walk around and feel as if he was seeing everything in delay, like his brain was processing life in slow motion replay as it played out in full speed in front of him.
X-rays were taken, visits to specialists were arranged, but he never improved. He'd visit doctors with dog-eared textbooks on their desks who'd suggest he had anxiety or social issues. He'd get frustrated that no one believed him.
"I played for nine years at the big-league level, if I had a social anxiety disorder I think I'd have trouble playing in front of 40,000 people," said Koskie. "If I wrote a book I'd call it, 'If I Only Had A Cast.' People think you're fine."
An odyssey that took him through the offices of the finest concussion specialists on the continent followed, one that led him to Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston. A couple of referrals later he met up last fall with John Groves, a physical therapist based in the Minneapolis area who noticed Koskie was having issues in the back of his neck.
He prescribed a series of exercises to loosen the area and the improvements began soon after. Feeling good by Christmas, Koskie began light exercise in the new year, moved on to weights, then to ping pong with former Twins teammate Carlos Silva, then to throwing and hitting at the University of Minnesota.
By February he was asking the Twins to let him train at their spring facility in Fort Myers, Fla., and calling Baseball Canada's Greg Hamilton, asking for a spot on the national team.
"I'd say I'm about 99.99 per cent sure it's behind me," said Koskie. "There's that whole game aspect of it, where the game speeds up a little bit, but I've been going full bore at it for three weeks and everything has been going great."
Yet Koskie will never be the same, both on the field and off it.
A noted prankster who once lined David Ortiz's underwear with crunchy peanut butter and managed to control his laughter as his former teammate walked out of the Twins clubhouse with them on, Koskie has a new sense of purpose about him, speaking passionately about the dangers of concussions and how they are frequently misdiagnosed in the United States.
While he's not ready to become an advocate for the cause, he has spoken to countless young people who have been told by doctors they're fine even as their symptoms persist. All he can do is tell them what he knows and hope they find better treatment.
The ordeal has also given him a different outlook on life.
"You hear people say that when tragic stuff happens, it puts life in perspective," he said. "I had my life in pretty good perspective before, my family is always first, career second, but the thing I didn't think about is my health. I felt invincible and that's one thing I struggled with after this injury, all of a sudden that feeling of invincibility was gone. It was a very benign fall, everybody was telling I'd be better in a week because I barely fell, and I didn't get better.
"I really question my trust in the medical system. I went from doctor to doctor to doctor and I just fell through the loopholes."
That's why he believes it's important to tell his story as often as he can, and to push his comeback as far as he possibly can, despite the risks of another concussion. If he can make it back, so might others who have gone through what he has.
"Concussions are a hopeless injury," he said. "To be able to get back to where I've been pre-injury, a lot of people can use it. I did a lot of work with the Minnesota Brain Injury Association and I've worked with a lot of people with brain injuries, and this is one of those injuries where there's so much hopelessness behind it, because nobody knows when it's going to end. Hopefully they'll be able to see me out here and say, 'He got back to what he did before.'
"People who are two, three months into it and doctors are saying they're nuts but they still don't feel right, it gives them something to say, 'You know what? It might take a couple of years, but hopefully I can get back to my normal life pre-injury."'
Notes: Manager Ernie Whitt said Koskie will DH Tuesday when Canada plays the Toronto Blue Jays in an exhibition game. ... Scott Richmond will start for Canada, with Chris Begg, Jesse Crain, Steve Green, Phillippe Aumont and Dave Davidson scheduled to follow. ... Whitt said his starting lineup right now would have Jason Bay in centre field, Matt Stairs in right, Nick Weglarz in left, Russ Martin behind the plate, Justin Morneau at first, Pete Orr at second, Chris Barnwell at short, Mark Teahen at third and Joey Votto at DH. Weglarz is a question mark after rolling an ankle, although he's expected to be fine. ... Teahen may also be moved to second if Koskie shows he's healthy enough to play third. ... Whitt revealed the top six hitters of a batting order he was toying with: Barnwell; Martin; Votto; Morneau; Bay; Stairs.
That's why no player was happier than him to be at the Englebert Complex in Dunedin, Fla., where the Canadian national team gathered Monday afternoon to begin preparations for the World Baseball Classic.
As recently as last fall Koskie was simply trying to get his life back together after a severe case of post-concussion syndrome. Now he's back playing a game he loves, trying to restart a career interrupted by an innocent-looking fall to the ground July 5, 2006 while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers.
He'll suit up for Canada at the tournament and then try to win a job with the Chicago Cubs, with whom he signed a minor-league deal over the weekend, things the 35-year-old used to think would never again be possible.
"I had those moments, but once I started getting a lot better I really wanted to get back to it," said Koskie. "Whatever happens after the WBC, I'm able to put closure, going down to the Cubs, I'll be able to put closure on that part of my life, or move forward (with baseball).
"That's what my biggest goal was, get down here, be able to have it more in my control hopefully, instead of going out like I did a couple of years ago and dealing with that the last 2 1-2 years."
Control is something Koskie's had very little of in his life since that fateful fall.
Doctors initially told him he'd be out a week, that the symptoms he was feeling would soon fade away. They didn't.
He'd walk around and feel as if he was seeing everything in delay, like his brain was processing life in slow motion replay as it played out in full speed in front of him.
X-rays were taken, visits to specialists were arranged, but he never improved. He'd visit doctors with dog-eared textbooks on their desks who'd suggest he had anxiety or social issues. He'd get frustrated that no one believed him.
"I played for nine years at the big-league level, if I had a social anxiety disorder I think I'd have trouble playing in front of 40,000 people," said Koskie. "If I wrote a book I'd call it, 'If I Only Had A Cast.' People think you're fine."
An odyssey that took him through the offices of the finest concussion specialists on the continent followed, one that led him to Dr. Robert Cantu in Boston. A couple of referrals later he met up last fall with John Groves, a physical therapist based in the Minneapolis area who noticed Koskie was having issues in the back of his neck.
He prescribed a series of exercises to loosen the area and the improvements began soon after. Feeling good by Christmas, Koskie began light exercise in the new year, moved on to weights, then to ping pong with former Twins teammate Carlos Silva, then to throwing and hitting at the University of Minnesota.
By February he was asking the Twins to let him train at their spring facility in Fort Myers, Fla., and calling Baseball Canada's Greg Hamilton, asking for a spot on the national team.
"I'd say I'm about 99.99 per cent sure it's behind me," said Koskie. "There's that whole game aspect of it, where the game speeds up a little bit, but I've been going full bore at it for three weeks and everything has been going great."
Yet Koskie will never be the same, both on the field and off it.
A noted prankster who once lined David Ortiz's underwear with crunchy peanut butter and managed to control his laughter as his former teammate walked out of the Twins clubhouse with them on, Koskie has a new sense of purpose about him, speaking passionately about the dangers of concussions and how they are frequently misdiagnosed in the United States.
While he's not ready to become an advocate for the cause, he has spoken to countless young people who have been told by doctors they're fine even as their symptoms persist. All he can do is tell them what he knows and hope they find better treatment.
The ordeal has also given him a different outlook on life.
"You hear people say that when tragic stuff happens, it puts life in perspective," he said. "I had my life in pretty good perspective before, my family is always first, career second, but the thing I didn't think about is my health. I felt invincible and that's one thing I struggled with after this injury, all of a sudden that feeling of invincibility was gone. It was a very benign fall, everybody was telling I'd be better in a week because I barely fell, and I didn't get better.
"I really question my trust in the medical system. I went from doctor to doctor to doctor and I just fell through the loopholes."
That's why he believes it's important to tell his story as often as he can, and to push his comeback as far as he possibly can, despite the risks of another concussion. If he can make it back, so might others who have gone through what he has.
"Concussions are a hopeless injury," he said. "To be able to get back to where I've been pre-injury, a lot of people can use it. I did a lot of work with the Minnesota Brain Injury Association and I've worked with a lot of people with brain injuries, and this is one of those injuries where there's so much hopelessness behind it, because nobody knows when it's going to end. Hopefully they'll be able to see me out here and say, 'He got back to what he did before.'
"People who are two, three months into it and doctors are saying they're nuts but they still don't feel right, it gives them something to say, 'You know what? It might take a couple of years, but hopefully I can get back to my normal life pre-injury."'
Notes: Manager Ernie Whitt said Koskie will DH Tuesday when Canada plays the Toronto Blue Jays in an exhibition game. ... Scott Richmond will start for Canada, with Chris Begg, Jesse Crain, Steve Green, Phillippe Aumont and Dave Davidson scheduled to follow. ... Whitt said his starting lineup right now would have Jason Bay in centre field, Matt Stairs in right, Nick Weglarz in left, Russ Martin behind the plate, Justin Morneau at first, Pete Orr at second, Chris Barnwell at short, Mark Teahen at third and Joey Votto at DH. Weglarz is a question mark after rolling an ankle, although he's expected to be fine. ... Teahen may also be moved to second if Koskie shows he's healthy enough to play third. ... Whitt revealed the top six hitters of a batting order he was toying with: Barnwell; Martin; Votto; Morneau; Bay; Stairs.
Comments
Related Articles
Other Articles By This Writer
