PezCycling News features Steven Cozza in an article that explores how to recover mentally from crashes.
From the article: Suddenly, the news crackled through: Garmin-Chipotle rider Steven Cozza had crashed. Dr. Prentice Steffen sped to the scene, and found Steven face down, unconscious. Calling on his expertise in emergency medicine, Dr. Steffen stayed with Steven as he was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital.
Steven had a bad head injury and serious neurological symptoms that persisted upon his return home: loss of memory, difficulty focusing, trouble perceiving hot and cold temperatures, an altered sense of taste, and problems with coordination and depth perception. Steven picks up the story:
“I wasn’t sure how long the symptoms could last – maybe even years. With a head injury, you really don’t know how long it will take to heal, or if it will. I was really depressed. One week, I was competing with the best athletes in the world and doing well at it, and then I went to not being able to get out of bed. I didn’t know if I would ever be normal again.”
