Dale Earnhardt Jr. was "pretty sick" when he was diagnosed with a concussion eight weeks ago and faced a long, hard road while recovering.
He is making significant progress, however, and credits not only his doctors but also the help of his family and friends. At the top of that list is his fiancée, Amy Reimann, whom Earnhardt says plays a key role in his recovery.
"Amy has been there every step of the way pushing me to stay focused and to realize the progress we have made and to keep working hard," said Earnhardt, who will miss the rest of the 2016 NASCAR season but hopes to return for 2017's season-opening Daytona 500.
Though Earnhardt has a ways to go before he can resume racing, he says he's making progress in his daily life. And that is key to reaching Dr. Micky Collins' goal "to get Dale feeling as normal as a human being."
"Aside from just not being at the track and doing what I'm used to doing, the first four or five weeks were really difficult," Earnhardt said Sunday in a news conference at Darlington Raceway. "I was very ill and it was hard to enjoy even the simplest activities. But in the past couple of weeks I've really gotten to where I feel a lot more comfortable about going out and doing and being out an about and being observed."
Earnhardt said simple trips to the store were a challenge.
"I go to Target or somewhere and I have symptoms and I might stumble across the aisle or something, or need a little more sidewalk than a normal guy," he said. "But, I've got to put myself through those situations for that to sort of correct itself. Really, like (Dr. Collins) said, the anxiety and the nervousness of the whole process drives all that and makes it much more than it really is. And that's why I feel awesome at home because there's no anxiety or issues at home. You sit on your couch and almost convince yourself you're 100 percent. And then you'll walk outside and realize you're not. Or, you go somewhere and you'll have a symptom and realize that you've still got a ways to go."
Earnhardt credits his fiancée for helping him work through those daily challenges and return to a normal life.
"Amy's been great. She's been there every single day pushing me. Without her, this would be nearly impossible to go through," Earnhardt said. "So, that's been awesome to have her with me every day, and available to help me. And she doesn't complain and she's right there with me doing all the exercises. She even does the exercises that I'm doing just to be healthy herself."
source : http://www.sportingnews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment