Life-threatening brain injury turns tables on local doctor

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A man dedicated to helping others with serious brain injuries now finds himself battling his own terrifying trauma.

Dr. Timothy Skraitz, a North Strabane chiropractor, was flown to the hospital after part of a tree fell on his head recently.

His family thought he wasn't going to survive.

"My eyes rolled in the back of my head and I was unresponsive," he said. "I was cutting trees and I don't know what happened."

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Skraitz did survive, however, and now faces a long road to recovery. He must wear medical sunglasses and two sets of headphones to cancel out light and noise, among other treatments.

"I can't drive a car. Don't trust myself being a doctor to see my patients right now. That's the part I really want to get back to. I've done it for 34 years," Skraitz said.

Skraitz told Channel 11 how difficult it is knowing what's wrong with his brain and not being able to function, let alone help himself recover.

He's headed to the Carrick Institute in Florida this Sunday, where he will be treated by the same chiropractic neurologists who treated Sidney Crosby and helped him recover enough to play hockey again after his severe concussion.