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D-backs' Marshall recovers from brain trauma, eyes return to mound
PHOENIX — Three weeks after taking a line drive to the head that fractured his skull and prompted a call to his wife telling her "they didn't know if he was going to make it through the night," Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand Evan Marshall was making the rounds at Chase Field on Tuesday, reuniting with teammates, discussing his rapid recovery and talking about returning to uniform before the season ends in six weeks.
Marshall was struck by a Jason Haggerty line drive while pitching for the Triple-A Reno Aces on an Aug. 4 game in El Paso, Texas. Within a couple of hours he had been transported to the nearest hospital for a brain scan, then transferred to the University of Texas-El Paso Medical Center for surgery to relieve pressure caused by bleeding and swelling in the brain.
His wife, Allie, who had been following the game on the Internet, received a call from Diamondbacks medical coordinator Andrew Hauser. Choking back tears, she recalled what he told her: "Ev was in critical condition, he had a fractured skull, his brain was bleeding and they didn't know if he was going to make it through the night. We need to get you to El Paso right away."
Marshall described the sequence of events in a cheerful, matter-of-fact manner: "Every minute was real important about how I was going to be able to come back, because damage was being done with the pressure that was building in my skull.
"They got me opened up and relieved the pressure real fast and stopped the damage from being done, they sealed me up, put 20 staples up the side of my head. But if that's the price I have to pay to continue my career, that's fine.
"It's sealed up, the staples are gone, and honestly I'm blessed and thankful because the speed that everyone acted is what allowed me to wake up and remember who I was."
Tuesday's visit to Chase Field was just another step in Marshall's recovery that was described as "remarkable" by Dr. Christina Kwansica, medical director of rehab at Barrow Neurological Institute.
"It's been therapeutic," Marshall said. "She told me what's good for the heart is good for the mind, so I've been doing all my favorite things since being home. I just missed it so much, being around the game, the guys in the locker room, and today was just really special to see everybody and get hugs and tell them how much them reaching out to me and talking to me throughout the whole process has helped me to keep going."
It was therapeutic for the Diamondbacks, too.
"He seems like he's ready to go, he wants a ball, wants to play catch," manager Chip Hale said before Tuesday night's game with the St. Louis Cardinals. "That's why I have a smile on my face, I couldn't believe how good he looked. Especially seeing how he looked right after. It's amazing what modern medicine can do."
Added pitcher Josh Collmenter: "To see him up and moving around and talking and operating as normal as you could think, it's pretty fantastic. Who knows about a comeback or something, but if that happened, it would be an incredible story. It's just good to see him in happy spirits."
Marshall, who had been an important member of the Diamondbacks bullpen as a rookie in 2014 but was demoted to Reno after some early season struggles, spent a week in intensive care in El Paso, then a week at Barrow before being released for outpatient therapy. He said he's free of all post-concussion symtoms -- speech, balance, strength ... you name it.
"It's been amazing the care I've received," he said. "At first, it was a little cloudy behind my eyes, thinking was really hard, even carrying on a conversation, but they explained to me that the more that I talked and conversed with people, the more math and problem solving that I did, the connections would rebuild. And so I've been studying for a test for about two weeks now. I don't know what my IQ was before I got hit, but it might be higher now."
Kwansica said the primary focus of Marshall's therapy right now is brain recovery. "And then the focus will shift to returning him back as an athlete, which he wants to have happen as quickly as possible. It's remarkable that we're even having this discussion or talking about those kind of things three weeks after what happened."
She said if Marshall played a contact sport such as football or hockey, his career would be over, but she sees no reason he can't return to the baseball diamond, even if it's not as quickly as Marshall would like. As a professional athlete, she said, Marshall's recovery must go far beyond that of a normal patient. His balance and reaction time must be at an extraordinary level to compete at the highest level.
"That's the thing that I think we might not be back this season, but he's going to continue to try to lobby me," she said with a smile. "We still have some things to do first before we go there. I'd like to let him get behind the wheel of a car first."
Marshall interrupted: "Driving is step one. I told her that the season has six weeks left, and don't bet against me."
Marshall said his physical rehab has already included running and power-lifting sessions. He said he has no fears about stepping back on the mound, and he's already thinking about protective headgear options.
"I'm not worried or scared about that day, and if the worst thing that happens from all this is that I have to wear a funny looking hat to continue my career I'll take that, because the alternative wouldn't be very fun.
"Everything seems to be back to normal as far as my speech and my thoughts and especially physically. I really feel like myself, and the next step is to really make sure that I'm right and take the time to do this the right way."
Even after living through what she's described as a terrifying nightmare, Allie Marshall feels the same way.
"This guy has shown ridiculous amounts of strength these past few weeks, and I can't wait to see him back out there," she said.
Added Marshall: "We'll get her a funny hat too."
