Dallas Cowboys Player Details Guillain-Barré Syndrome Recovery

In 2017, Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick had played in 112 straight games at a very high level for the Wisconsin Badgers and through five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He had made his his fourth straight Pro Bowl after the completion of the 2017 NFL Season, yet he had no idea his life was about to change. Prior to training camp in 2018, Frederick began feeling tingling in his toes and numbness in his toes and back, which he originally attributed to a potential lower back injury, which often occurs due to the nature of his position on the offensive line. Things progressively got worse when he had trouble gripping a football in his hands, a vital skill for a center, his concern was heightened that his issue was a potential neck injury or something that could be more severe than initially anticipated. Frederick spent the next several weeks seeing specialists all over the country to determine what was wrong. No doctor or medical specialist could pinpoint the cause of his symptoms. He was eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rapidly on-setting weakness of the muscles brought on by one’s immune and nervous systems. “I had never heard of [GBS]. Neither did most people, not even the doctors,” Frederick told Yahoo earlier this year. “The neurosurgeon had only seen it twice. He is one of the top neurosurgeons in the country. When you have something that rare, that’s when you know there is something going on. That is why it took a little bit for the diagnosis. It’s hard. There are a lot of things it could have been leading up to it. I give a lot of credit to our training staff. They kept on it. They kept trying to figure something out.” For Frederick, it has been a long process, which included him missing the entire 2018 NFL season. His recovery felt long and was often frustrating. His diet was completely altered, his exercise and strength plans were put on hold, and his daily routine was flipped on its head. After considerable research and medical consultations, Frederick came to the realization that the only real way to get back to 100% again was to get as much sleep as he could. This led Frederick to contact Sleep Number in a collaborative effort to partner and find a way to get optimize his sleep and aid in his recovery process. What came next was Frederick using the company's patented “SleepIQ” system to find a sleep setting that matched his body and personal preferences. This includes automatic adjustments to a sleeper’s position throughout the night in order to optimize sleep patterns and create the perfect sleep. The bed also elevates your head over time in order to determine the best sleep based on breathing and heart patterns, thereby preventing tossing and turning during the sleep cycle. “The Sleep Number system really helped me throughout my recovery in getting optimal sleep”, Frederick told me. “Utilizing the bed’s zero-gravity position as well allowing me to customize sleep based off of what I do while I’m sleeping was a great aid in helping me recover and get back on the field this season.” Frederick's dedication to his recovery was based on his desire to return to the field as quickly as possible while also knowing that his teammates' safety was in his hands. Taking shortcuts or returning less than 100% was not an option. “Throughout this process, thinking about my position on the field affects others was a major factor in my rehab and figuring out when I could be cleared to return to the field”, Frederick told me. “Me not being 100% could have an enormous effect on others on the field and I really needed to make sure I was ready and play at the level I had been used to playing at throughout my career.” Frederick miraculously returned to the gridiron in 2019 and has played an entire season in his first year back from GBS. While the ordeal was very difficult, frustrating and taxing, Frederick noted that it has made him a better player, after being able to observe the game for a prolonged period of time, and better understand the positive effects sleep can have for a professional athlete when utilized in training. If you or a loved one received a flu shot in the weeks before the onset of GBS, please contact our vaccine attorney who can discuss how you would be eligible for vaccine compensation settlements for pain and suffering, medical expenses, future medical care and lost wages. [Click here to see if you are eligible for compensation][1] [1]: https://www.vaccineawarenesscenter.com/contact/