{"id":6211,"date":"2022-10-12T10:43:33","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T14:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/?page_id=6211"},"modified":"2025-09-24T17:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:02:14","slug":"donor-stories","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/financial-support\/donor-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Donor Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our work would not be possible without the brain donations we have received from over 1,700 families who have so graciously contributed to our research. We are very grateful for every brain we receive and each donation has gotten us closer to achieving our goals, especially identifying CTE in living persons.<\/p>\n

We are also grateful for those who were interested in brain donation but were unable to complete the process due to technical reasons. We thank you for spreading awareness of CTE and for your willingness to share your loved ones\u2019 stories with us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit our Memorial Wall<\/a> to find a full list of donors, whose families have consented to publicly acknowledge their contribution to our research.<\/p>\n

Below, please learn more about the people who have made our research possible.<\/p>\n

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\nCameron Adamson, <\/span><\/strong>1998-2021<\/span><\/h4>\n

Cameron Adamson was a successful high school wrestler and Corporal in the Marines, and was posthumously promoted to Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nBarrett Callaghan, <\/span><\/strong>1995-2021<\/span><\/h4>\n

Barrett Callaghan was an athlete and avid sports fan and spent time playing football, baseball, golf, and basketball.<\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Mario Circo, <\/span><\/strong>1993-2018<\/span><\/h4>\n

Mario Circo, a beloved firefighter, is remembered for his kindness, intelligence, and wit. During his life, he experienced symptoms consistent with the early stages of suspected CTE.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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James “Jimmy” Fryatt, <\/span><\/strong>1940-2020<\/span><\/h4>\n

James \u201cJimmy\u201d Fryatt was an English football player who also played and coached in the United States. After noticing changes to his personality and lifestyle during the approximately 8 years before he died, his family decided to donate his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank at the BU CTE Center for answers after his passing at the age of 79.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>John Gaal, Jr., 1992-2017<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

John Gaal, Jr. is a former high school football and soccer player and is remembered by those who knew him as kind-hearted, funny, and the type of person to put others before himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Mar\u00eda P\u00e1nfila Garay<\/span>, 1945-2015<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mar\u00eda P\u00e1nfila Garay was a loving mother who enjoyed\u00a0<\/span>music and the outdoors<\/span>. After noticing changes to her personality, thinking, and behavior after years of suffering from domestic violence, her eldest daughter decided to donate her brain to the BU CTE Center for answers after her passing at age 69.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Patrick Grange, <\/span><\/strong>1982-2012<\/h4>\n

Patrick Grange was well-known for his incredible athletic abilities and his kindness, bravery, and optimism. At 28, he was diagnosed with ALS and after his death his family donated his brain to the Boston University CTE Center where he was diagnosed with CTE Stage II\/IV, making him the first American former soccer player to be diagnosed with CTE.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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John Grimsley,<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>1962-2008<\/strong><\/h4>\n

John Grimsley was the first brain donation received at the CSTE Brain Bank, now known as the <\/span>UNITE Brain Bank, and was the first football player to be diagnosed with CTE by Dr. Ann McKee at Boston University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people knew John Grimsley as a former linebacker for the Houston Oilers and Miami Dolphins, but those closest to him knew him as a hard worker, a lover of the outdoors, and a loving father, husband, friend, and teammate.<\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Evan Hansen, <\/span><\/strong>1997-2018<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Evan Hansen played a variety of sports, was the captain of his football team, and is remembered by those who knew him as easy-going, hard-working, and happy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Ashlyn Lee, <\/span><\/strong>2003-2020<\/h4>\n

Ashlyn Lee was a high school soccer player who was known for her kind and bright spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Tom McHale, <\/span><\/strong>1963-2008<\/h4>\n

Former NFL player Tom McHale was one of the earliest brain donations received at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) Brain Bank, now known as the\u00a0<\/span>UNITE Brain Bank\u00a0at the Boston University CTE Center. Beyond football, Mr. McHale was a restauranteur, a family man, and a good friend that many in his life said left them better for knowing him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Drew Mulligan, <\/span><\/strong>1993-2018<\/h4>\n

Drew Mulligan was a successful hockey player who is remembered for being funny, happy, smart, protective, and having a larger-than-life personality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Ken Stabler, <\/span><\/strong>1945-2015<\/h4>\n

Ken Stabler was a former football player for the University of Alabama and the NFL, where he became a Super Bowl Champion and was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Dennis Williams, <\/strong>1965-2022<\/h4>\n

Dennis Williams played football for over 20 years and was known for being a fierce competitor with passion and drive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ed Wolf, <\/span><\/strong>1939-2021<\/span><\/h4>\n

Ed Wolf was an athlete, a serviceman, and above all, a family man.<\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Anthony Zahn, <\/span><\/strong>1974-2020<\/span><\/h4>\n

Anthony Zahn was a bronze medal-winning Paralympic cyclist who had many hobbies and passions and is remembered for his desire to help others.<\/p>\n

Read more.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our work would not be possible without the brain donations we have received from over 1,700 families who have so graciously contributed to our research. We are very grateful for every brain we receive and each donation has gotten us closer to achieving our goals, especially identifying CTE in living persons. We are also grateful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20977,"featured_media":0,"parent":69,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20977"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6211"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9978,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6211\/revisions\/9978"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}