Me, Myself & TBI: Facing Traumatic Brain Injury Head On provides information and inspiration for people affected by brain injury. Each episode, journalist and TBI survivor Christina Brown Fisher speaks with people affected by brain injury. Listen to dive deep into their stories and lessons learned.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Hello and welcome to a special edition of “Me, Myself, and TBI.” I'm your host, Christina Brown Fisher. I am a journalist, and writer, and traumatic brain injury survivor. I spoke with former mixed martial arts fighter and UFC champion Spencer Fisher for a previous episode of the “Me, Myself, and TBI” podcast.
Spencer Fisher was called “the King” of the cage fight. Today he fights a different battle. If you didn’t hear my conversation with him, I encourage you to listen to that show. He tells a harrowing story of survival following traumatic brain injury, after fighting professionally in the UFC for ten years.
His wife Emily Fisher has been a witness to that struggle. She was beside him during the recording of our interview, often stepping in, providing prompts to help him remember certain points, gently guiding him when he lost track of this thoughts or became overwhelmed with emotion.
During my conversation with Spencer, it became clear to fully understand his story, I would need to speak with Emily and hear her story. Please, take a listen.
Emily, what I wanted to do I kind of wanted to pick up kind of where we left off. And there were some things that, as you know, because you were sitting beside him that he just doesn't fully recollect. But talk to me about that 2007 incidents, because I even think --- that's back when you started noticing things --- Emily, when you started to notice a difference in Spencer?
Emily Fisher:
Was definitely after the Hermes fight.
Christina Brown Fisher:
And Spencer lost to Hermes Franca in their fight in 2007.
Emily Fisher:
I mean, I was pregnant with our firstborn at the time, and I just remember --- it was probably about a month-and-a-half before I gave birth. But he I remember he was just like all of a sudden, just take off and leave, and, or he'd go out with guys, and I'm just like, “you know, you're going to leave me here alone right now?” I'm like, “I can't do anything.” And I remember being upset and crying and had just nothing fazed him. He would, just he didn't care. And I'm just like, I'm going, “what's wrong with you? What's happened to you?” And I think the biggest shocker and was after I'd had Lucia and we'd also gotten custody of his, a daughter from a previous relationship. We had gotten custody of her two days after we had or two days before, we had Lucia at the time and, you know, just kind of life was a little chaotic. And I remember we came down here to North Carolina to visit my family, let everyone meet the baby, met Lucia. And we, it was Madison's birthday, too at that same time. It was around 4th of July weekend. And so we threw a birthday party for Madison. And I remember Spencer was on the internet and we were all trying to get him to get off the computer. And so anyhow, my mom had decided to disconnect the wifi. And anyhow, Spencer didn't know this, but he got up and started helping and playing with the kids, you know, and getting engaged to the party, which normally is something he would do. But at this time, it's just like nothing we said matter and he wouldn't do anything. So later on, you know, that evening my mom sat down and told Spencer what she had done. And I just remember he got up and she had told me she's like, “I told him what I did.” I'm like, “oh, why did you do that?” Because I knew he had been really short tempered at this point. And he got up to me, “he goes, I'm leaving.” And I'm like, “what are you talking about?” He just walks, you know, walks in the house, goes back in the room. We were staying in, packs his bags and like in front of all his friends and family and everyone that had known him just walks out the door and leaves. And we're just like, “what's that about?” I’m like, “I have no idea.”
Christina Brown Fisher:
You've never seen anything like that from him before?
Emily Fisher:
You know, never, and I'm just like, I mean, I'm trying to put on a tough face because I'm like, ‘okay, we've got a kid's birthday party.’ And I'm like, try to make sure the kids are okay. And I'm just like pretty much what the fuck? And I think I tried calling him that evening and then we got into and I'm just like, you know, “What are you doing?” He's like, “I'm never coming back to that house again.” He's like, “this is, he's like, I can't believe they did this to me. This was stupid.” You know? Just okay, I'm like, “whatever you need to chill out.” So now he was gone. I came over the next day was I think the next day was the 4th of July, and we're all still hanging out and going to watch the fireworks in town. And he was gone. He just stayed away. And I guess the day after that he had called the house and I'm in bed asleep and they got on the phone with my dad and he's told my dad because we had planned to stay on here for a full week. And he told my dad, he goes, “Let me talk to him.” And he goes, “well, she's asleep.” He goes, “Well, I'm leaving.” He goes, “You're leaving?” He goes, “Yeah, I'm leaving.” He's like, “So I'm going back to Iowa.” And he got in the car and he left. He left me and the kids down here. And I'm just like, you know, when I found out later on, I mean, I was just, I was devastated. I was crying. I'm just like, “what is going on?” You know, is that, you know, the shock of the family is just like, oh, was it he just become one of those guys who's gotten some fame and now he's just too good to be part of, you know, the rest of our life? Because it was right after the Sam Stout fight. And I'm just I couldn’t...
Christina Brown Fisher:
Never, though. Are you thinking brain injury or. No. No to that?
Emily Fisher:
No, I just I just didn't I couldn't understand what was going on, you know? And then he ended up, you know, sending someone he sent his friend back down here to pick me up. And I remember got back to Iowa, and it was right at our anniversary time too, and we are still get into, end up arguing and going out to dinner and, you know, trying to like I'm still trying to process like what is going on with him. And, you know, we had a lot of ups and downs for several years after that. You know, there'd be times that I would just take the kids and I would leave and go stay in a hotel room to get away from him, because it was just like he was so explosive. It was just like walking on eggshells and just the stress of having to deal with that and take care of the kids and just stay functioning. It was it was getting really hard for me.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Emily, Did the arguments ever become physically violent with Spencer?
Emily Fisher:
I might have thrown some things at him. He might have thrown some things at me a couple of times. But as far as hands on, no, I mean shoving matches, but nothing like where I felt like I was in danger.
Christina Brown Fisher: But the shoving matches, the physicality of the arguments. They were something that happened only after 2007 and after that, that that bout?
Emily Fisher:
My younger days we might have.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Oh, okay. So that wasn't unusual then. So that wasn't necessarily unusual for you guys to be physical while arguing?
Emily Fisher:
No, it was just more. I think more often, you know, and just over little things just that would just be blown up. Like everything just got blown out of proportion. If, you know, if a drink had gotten stale or something that a food item he wanted wasn't in the house or the kids are being too loud or. I remember one time he had a, a rash guard and we had some, we had a guy from Japan that was staying with us as well and he had a matching rash guard. And I remember I did laundry, washed him, and anyhow, rash guards don’t shrink. And I remember he grabbed the guard from, Japan's rash guard, and they were matching rash guards and he had a complete breakdown, fit, angry, threw the shirt, was cussing, screaming and just, you know, ran out of the house because he's angry at me because I shrunk the rash guard. And I'm just like, “These don't shrink. I did not shrink your rash guard.” And you know, of course I didn’t. And it turned out it was not his. So, but just like that, processing and reasoning and rationalization, it was just not there. So and, you know, he was talking about, you know, I mean, our marriage would ended up, you know, I was going to leave we ended up getting counseling. And, you know, that that's when, you know, you start speaking, you know, seeing the therapist on a regular basis. And they were getting some medication for depression and things like that. And this is before the diagnosis, but that's kind of what helped us get the diagnosis, I guess. You know, you want to say a blessing in disguise. When he decided he wanted to continue fighting after the Sam Stout fight, you know, going in to get his because at that point when he was going to fight, Yves Edwards, I was at a point where I was like, you know, I'm ready. If our marriage is going to end, I'm fine with it because it was just so much stress. And what was it? I remember I wasn't going to go. He went and did the first test by himself, and that's when they came back with the false positive. And he was on a medication called Wellbutrin at the time, and it was showing water on the brain. So when we found that out, I remember we discussed with UFC and, you know, they were like, “Well, you're going to have to go back and redo this test since it was the medication. You’re gonna have to wait ten days,” and it was getting pretty close to the time of the Yves Edwards fight at that point. And I remember the UFC doctor, I can't remember his name right now. He was mad at us at the time. I'm like, you know, this isn't something we had control of. We don't know.
Christina Brown Fisher:
And at this time, according to Spencer, he really wants to get a clear to fight. He wants to find a doctor that's going to say that he’s fine?
Emily Fisher:
Yeah. Well, this time this was just a regular examination. He was doing his regular physical that he had to do to fight. They require them all the time, but this time it added in the EEG component because of his age. And that's when they picked up the water on the brain. So they're like, “all right, you're going to have to come back in ten days, you know, detox from medication.” And of course, for me, I'm just like, “great, this is going to be awful.” Him getting off this medication. I felt like it was helping his attitude and his explosiveness. And he goes back in and, you know, at that time, you know, I had him he was staying at a friend's house because, you know, I couldn't have him in the house. And I remember I wasn't going to go to do the test. And he calls me and he's like really upset. And he's like, “I'm scared.” And then, you know, I’m thinking, “dammit,” like, fine. So, I rush over to the hospital and I'm in there while he's there doing the second EEG on him. And they had to get me to come out of the room because he was trying to hold my hand and it was picking up on the sensors. So I left the room and they continue the tests and I don't know if we got the results that day or the next day from his regular physician. And she said, you know, they found lesions on the left side of your brain. “I cannot clear you to fight. You're going to have to go to a neurologist” before you get it. She's like, “I will not clear you.” So we ended up having to go to the neurologist there in the Quad Cities to be seen. I can't remember and he starts doing a regular neurologic exam on him. And I'm sitting there watching the exam and I'm just and I'm seeing Spencer's, you know, not being able to remember the five words that they gave him, but they go back in 5-minutes to retest him on it. Couldn't remember the words. Biggest thing was like they were making him draw a clock. So there was like a picture of a clock that and he had a draw this same image beside it and he couldn't do it. You know, he couldn't get that. He couldn't draw the circle; he couldn't get the numbers right. He couldn't get up to the hour and minute hand in the right position. And I'm and I'm just here going, “this is bad.” And then there was like they showed pictures of animals and locations and like, okay, this is rhinoceros. Where do you see this ad? And he got most of those, but there was a few he would stumble on and then they showed him a picture. And in the picture, you know, you see a woman in the kitchen and there's kids and all I can see is absolute chaos. There's a kitchen sink that's like flooding into the floor. There's a fire on the stove. There's a kid, you know, opening a cabinet. There's like a big jar about to fall out. And the doctor is asking Spencer, “well, what do you see?” And he's like, “I see these kids trying to get cookies.” And I'm like, “Oh, my gosh, he has no idea what's going on.” And then they start doing the balance test on him. And his balance was terrible and I'm sitting here at this point I've been working with individuals with Parkinson's disease for six months. So I was getting informed and reading up on it because.
Christina Brown Fisher:
At this point you've long walked away from your own MMA career. You're now a personal trainer, correct?
Emily Fisher:
Yeah, I had been doing real estate and I had quit my real estate job to try to go full time as a personal trainer working with individuals with Parkinson's and which led on to dementia and strokes and some TBIs. And so I was getting informed and learning more about the way the brain, brain works and activities along with these diseases and damages that can occur. And so when I'm seeing all this, I'm just sitting there thinking, Oh my gosh. And so the doctor sat him down. He's like, “you know what? I think you have CTE.” He's like, because at that time it's when all the NFL stuff was coming out. And he's like, “you’ve got all the symptoms.” He's like, “I can't,” you know, “I can't allow you to fight.” And I'm sitting here instantly, like looking up. He gave us a pamphlet and I'm just instantly looking up information on CTE just so I can get it from my own information to find out ...
Christina Brown Fisher:
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Emily Fisher:
Or find out exactly how this works in the brain and just seeing how you can't pick it up on normal imaging, you know, MRIs and things like that won't find it. And it's just the slow atrophying of the brain similar to like cancer cells reproducing is spreading in the body. It's the brain just slowly, the atrophy one piece at a time. So and I'm just going, wow, and I'm reading like the signs, the symptoms, and I'm like, you know, seeing everything I've been doing with the Spencer. And at that point I'm like, “aha, like, this is what's been going on.”
Christina Brown Fisher:
Now all the pieces are beginning to fall into place. There's an explanation for you and for Spencer as to why he had been behaving the way he'd been behaving since really 2007. And I want to go back to 2007 in that fight with her made for Hermes Franca, Franca. Emily, you said, and Spencer has even said that he was, he was never the same after fighting Franca and in 2007. Franca tested positive for steroid use in July 2007, and he was actually banned from competition. Was that something you guys were aware?
Emily Fisher:
I'm sure there's been things that have come up in the past. It's one of those it's like, you know, what's it. What's it going to? Where are we going to get out of it in the long run? I mean, the damage is done.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Did you know about the ban?
Emily Fisher:
I didn't know. Spencer might have …
Christina Brown Fisher:
Ban and the steroid use accusation?
Emily Fisher:
I don't remember recall, but possibly. I know we had talked about someone had brought up to Spencer about if Hermes was on steroids at the time of his fight, but I don't know if he was or not. I don't know if they were doing regular testing on all the fighters like they started doing towards the end of his career or if it was just randomized.
Christina Brown Fisher:
So in 2012, that's when, that's when the initial medical examination is done, that's part of the routine fight preparation. But it's really 2013 where effectively his career with the UFC and really his career as a fighter is over at that point. Now that you have an explanation are things beginning to make sense? How do you kind of figure out your next step now?
Emily Fisher:
You know, of course, Spencer had talked about how he had spoken with the UFC and things like that, and as far as, you know, with our relationship. I know for me, you know, because I am a Christian, that's, you know, with all the stress and problems that we were having in our marriage, I was always turning to the Bible, too, for answers and guidance because, you know, you get people telling you one thing, you know, always giving their personal advice and at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. It's whatever you choose inside. You know what your heart is, so, I was always praying and asking for guidance. And this came as an answer, and I remember thinking back, I was like, you know, with my clients that are they're all majority are elderly and suffering from these, and they've got their, you know, their spouses and caretakers that are right there by their side. And I'm like, you know, my marriage vows to him and to God word, you know, through sickness and health. And unfortunately, we're not all guaranteed for that to happen in our older retirement years, which is the normal process. You know, we're young and it's happened a lot sooner than we expected. And so, I had to learn a lot of patience and take my time to stand back and just, you know, when he's having his moments, you know, it's time to step back. There's no point in arguing. Give him a few minutes to calm down and then discuss. Because that's, you know, getting into a heated argument at the moment it just doesn't help. It makes it, you know, the problems, whatever we're dealing with at that time, that much worse. So, you know, when he got the diagnosis, so it was like, again, we started working on getting him with a neuropsychologist, you know, some counseling. And I was going there with him for those appointments so I could hear on both ends things that would help him. And then, of course, you know, he wasn't ready to give up the fighting. And that's when the UFC it also sent us to a camera of famous Desert Sands Neurology or Sahara Desert or something like that. It was near the UFC fight offices, and they did, ran the tests on Spencer again, and again Spencer fail, and the guy said, You've got the symptoms of CTE and we had a big meeting with Dana White and the Fertitta brothers, and they're like, “Well, what do you want to do?” Spencer’s like, “well, I want to continue fighting.” And I'm just, you know, at the point I'm like, “you know, he's given everything he's got. I'm like, it's guys like him that make your sport big, that are willing just to put on a show. They're willing to fight.” And that's what the crowd wants, pays to see. And I was like, you know, I'm like, and from what I've seen, the people I take care of and help out, I go, I don't want to see him in the same position. But, you know, Dana was like, well, we're going to you know, him and Dana talked, and he was going to send him to see a guy who was a big CTE skeptic or probably still is. And so they sent him out there to get the clear. Again, the hope and this was 2014 at this point, and the guy does the whole battery of tests on him and then decides to do a spinal tap to see to check his spinal fluid cerebral fluids and they find the tau protein in his cerebral fluids. And, you know, that's a pretty, that's a positive sign for dementia. And he said it was a low amount. So, he was in the early signs of dementia. You know, he's like trying to say that it was family history. And I explained to him, I go, “no, his grandparents are all his mom died from cardiovascular or I had an aneurysm.” I was like, but his grandparents all are living into their late eighties, and they were very cognitively aware and, you know, relatively healthy mentally.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Did you feel a sense of betrayal from the UFC, from people like Dana White, who’s president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Fertitta brothers, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, they sold their shares in UFC, according to various reports for an estimated five-billion dollars?
Emily Fisher:
Like the Fertitta, I can’t remember which one of which one of the brothers I spoke with. But I felt like he was genuinely concerned. You know, he spoke with us several times, had given us his assistant’s number and, you know, a check on things, Dana, you know, of course, you know. I'm sure he's concerned [from] the business standpoint. But as far as like the checking in, like the Fertitta’s did? No, he didn't do it as much unless he was doing it with Spencer on a separate level. But, you know, able to contact him and talk about our concerns. And, you know, and I would contact about, you know, like, you know, can you help guide us in the right direction for, you know, for medical treatment, like on [making] sure he's with the right doctors? And, you know, we stay ahead of this, and we've got a good game plan put together so that way we cannot fix him but make sure he does, it progressed quicker and we're doing all the things we can to help him.
Christina Brown Fisher:
What expectations did you have from the UFC following this diagnosis?
Emily Fisher:
Personally, I didn't have any. I told Spencer I go, “you know, this is a business operation.” I go, “and you're a product.” And I'm like, and you know, when the products make your money, you put it on the shelf. You put fliers for it everywhere and you promote it because that's what's bringing in your income. I know, but when you know the product, no one thinks about the product anymore. You know, so does the corporation. They kind of put it on the back burner because it's no longer bringing in the profit.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Tell me what it's been like for you. You know, so many times I'm talking to and I certainly, you know, I'm a TBI survivor myself, but I know that so much of my recovery was tied to the people who are around me, specifically my mother and my husband supporting me through the rehab. And I don't think that enough credit and acknowledgment is given to the caregivers. I'm just curious to know what it has been like for you to see Spencer, the fighter that you fell in love with and Spencer, your husband, who really, really needs you in a way that perhaps you weren't expecting, at least not at this stage in your relationship.
Emily Fisher:
I says, this is what I do for a living, for my work. Well, it's just it comes normal for me, but, you know, there's days it gets hard, you know? Luckily, thank God my mom comes. I'm in school along with working right now. So she comes down and helps me out probably four or five days of the week with our children. Since I'm not here to like, make dinners and do those types of things or help them with their homework. And then, uh, I don't know, I take a lot of the load on my own shoulders. I do most the most of everything I do leave Spencer a list of some chores around the house to help out with when I'm not home. But as far as, like, the big stressors, as far as paying the bills, problem solving issues that come up with the kids or a car breaks down. Okay, what do we do if the car breaks down? You know, all those things that you, a couple would do as a team? You know, I do a lot of that on my own just because I know how the stress and anxiety affects him. You know, he'll end up getting dizzy, he'll get nauseous, he'll vomit. You know, physically, it wears him out and it's hard on him. And so, you know, I just try to I carry most of the burden.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Emily, were there ever times where your concern for Spencer also impacted your concern for your children? Were there moments where you were worried, for example, that maybe you couldn't leave the children alone with Spencer?
Emily Fisher:
After Kira's [my] second was born, I remember I was working at the YMCA and he would have he would have Kira with them because she was probably a couple of months old or she was too young to get into the daycare at that time. I think it was three months. They had to be three months old before they could start going to the daycare. So he would watch her while I was at work because he could take her with him to his gym. And I would have, you know, I was breastfeeding at the time, so I would pump bottles and have them in the refrigerator ready for him to go. And I would usually get home about three, 3:30 in the afternoon when Lucia and my (intelligible) would come home from school and Kira would be crying hysterically. And, you know, I couldn't get her to calm down. And I'd see that, you know, her diaper was full. So I'd, you know, I'd go to the refrigerator, open it, and I'd see about the bottles I made sitting in the refrigerator. And I'd look at Spencer go, you, you didn't feed her. And he goes, “well, I wasn't hungry.” And I'm just like, “Spencer, that's, that's not the issue. She needs to eat.” So I talked to my employer and I told her, you know, the situation was like, “can I just bring her with me in the mornings and let her stay in this daycare until you guys (unintelligible) at lunchtime?” And then I'm like, “I'll take my lunch break,” I'll feed her, change her, get all that, and then Spencer can take her home. And she's just got a couple hours where she should be fine at that point. And so that's the routine we developed. So, he would get to the he would come down to the Y usually around 12:30, 12:45, pick her up, and then I'd start with my next client at 1:00. So and just had to make a routine and those aspects that way, you know. As far as long distance driving. I get very concerned with his long-distance driving because I do know he does have like a visual delay and a lot of it individuals with neurological issues do have this visual delay where they, you know, don't see things immediately. So I'm always concerned not just with him, with the kids, but with himself as well, you know, because no matter how safely you might be driving, if someone's doing something erratic beside you, you know, there's only so much you can do to react in time.
Christina Brown Fisher:
What are you finding is helping you and helping him kind of manage the symptoms now.
Emily Fisher:
On the weekends, so, we have you know, routine is a big thing. So, during the week, he usually gets up about 7:00, 7:30. He does take Lucia, our oldest. He'll take her to school and then he'll go to the gym, and he'll be in there kind of processing. I try to make sure he eats something before he goes. Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't, because I know that will kind of help him too as far as with his dizzy spells. And on the weekends, usually most weekends, there's one day of the weekend he'll I'll let him just sleep the whole day. You know, he won't get up to either late that evening or the next morning, depending. So, you could look at like 24 hours of sleep. And that really does help them function throughout the next week. So those next two or three days during the weekdays, you know, his he's got more energy, he's more focused and, you know, it helps a lot.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Have you found, Emily, that there are times when you're having to explain to your family, your friends, the decisions that you're making to help, Spencer, you know, there've been moments where people have said, you know why? You know, why do you do it? Or why are you doing it that way?
Emily Fisher:
Our 15-year-old we have a teenage daughter, so you know, and there's a lot of times, you know, she's, she's a teenager, so she gets angry and irritated easily. And, you know, I remember there would be times like when he's sleeping, and she'll get angry because I'm like trying to get everyone to help with housework. And she's like, “well, why does Dad get to sleep in and he can't help out?” But I go, “he's sick, his brain is sick, and there's nothing, like, it's not cancer or something that you can physically see on a person.” I go, “it's his brain. And you can't see it. And he needs the rest.” Like, you know, “he's better off emotionally, he's happier, and it's easier to like, you know, function with him in the house when he gets the sleep.” I was like, “because if we go in there and we wake him up, you know, he's going to be irritable and groggy and it's just not going to, it's just going to end up being a terrible situation for all of us,” like (unintelligible), “so this is the way he's got to be?” And I'm like, “Yeah, it is.” I was like, “Unfortunately, I'm sorry. This is not, you know, the Disney family that you see on television.” I go, “this is our reality. This is how it is.” You know, we're you know. I was like, take don't take the good days for granted. So, always enjoy the good days.
Christina Brown Fisher:
Emily, I just want to say thank you so much for you and Spencer just opening up and just sharing your story. I know that this has not been easy.
Emily Fisher:
You know, well, especially with our marriage and relationship, it's not. You know that? Sure, I guess you're what you envision a future to be like. But it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. There's just new challenges and obstacles, but you learn how to be patient and work through them. And for me, you know, turning to God and praying and just being guided in the right direction, knowing how to deal with each situation as it comes up, the good ones and the bad ones, and being grateful, just being grateful, honestly, for every day that I have because I know, you know, I see I always watch my surroundings and I'll see like an older couple that walks up and down the road together hand in hand. And it makes me sad knowing that I might not have that opportunity when we get older. So always being grateful for the good days and sometimes even the bad days, depending on how bad they get. But just being appreciative, you know, I love my husband very much. And yeah, this is not the way we envision things in our future to be, but it is our future and we're going to make the best of it.
Christina Fisher:
Thank you, Emily. Thank you so much for joining me and to just for opening up and just being so vulnerable. And I just really appreciate it.
Emily Fisher:
You're welcome. Thank you.
Christina Fisher:
To hear more please check out my conversation with Spencer Fisher, also on “Me, Myself and T-B-I: Facing Traumatic Brain Injury Head On.” You can find it where you listen to your favorite podcasts.