With the news that Ryan Westmoreland's brain surgery "went well" today, it's interesting to note that CSNNE's Joe Haggerty had the same diagnosis when he was younger:

Westmoreland no doubt probably also heard that he might be suffering from the early stages of multiple sclerosis, which would slowly erode his health and wellness. He certainly heard both terrifying possibilities before he was informed about the tangle of malformed blood vessels with a "raspberry-like" appearance within his brain.

How could I possibly know all this?

Because I've been diagnosed with the same "cavernous malformation" condition that doctors discovered in exams of Westmoreland after he began suffering neurological episodes this spring. I've sat in a doctor's office with my parents and watched them both break down in sobs and tears after hearing a possible death-sentence diagnosis from doctors with sterling credentials framed on their walls.

It's a small -- and rare -- world.

Westmoreland's full prognosis is unknown at this point, but Red Sox officials have noted that the initial recovery will be difficult. There has been no speculation to Westmoreland's baseball-playing future at all.