The last words of a Georgia high school football player who mysteriously fell over unconscious on the sidelines during a game and later died have been revealed.
Pike County High School student Dylan Thomas passed out while seated on the bench during the matchup against Peach County on Friday night, woke up and said ‘I can’t feel my body,’ and then passed out again.
Thomas, 16, was flown to a hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead two days later from a brain injury.
The teen was hit during the game on Friday and although he was able to return to play, he later collapsed on the sidelines after his arm and leg went numb, Thomas’ uncle, Nick Burgess, said.
Burgess started a Facebook donation campaign for his nephew’s care and medical costs that has already received nearly $45,000 in contributions from only slightly less than 1,100 people.
Georgia high school football player Dylan Thomas, 16 (right), uttered the last words, ‘I can’t feel my body,’ on Friday, after what seemed like an ordinary hit during the game that may have led to his death, two days later
The rural Georgia county about an hour south of Atlanta has now been left reeling from the unexpected and difficult to comprehend loss of a beloved athlete, peer, friend and family member; Thomas’s teammates are seen here holding his jersey in his honor after his death
The rural Georgia county about an hour south of Atlanta has now been left reeling from the unexpected and difficult to comprehend loss of a beloved athlete, peer, friend and family member.
‘We’re in a constant process of evaluating the entire thing to see if we can pinpoint one area that maybe this occurred,’ Webber said.’There wasn’t anything that really stuck out.’
Thomas left the game after an injury, but made it back on to the field, seemingly fine to keep at it.
Then, out of nowhere, he became incoherent while speaking with trainers and the team doctor, coach Brad Webber told CNN.
A flyer featuring Thomas circulated throughout social media after he was hurt on Friday
That’s when he passed out, falling off the bench on the sideline, first responder Steve Fry said.
Thomas regained consciousness, uttered his final phrase, and then passed out again.
Thomas was immediately taken to WellStar Spalding Regional Hospital and then airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.
He was unresponsive once he arrived there, Burgess wrote on Saturday, in a post on the Facebook campaign’s page.
‘[A] CAT scan revealed brain hemorrhaging so they had to cut his skull open to relieve pressure off the brain,’ Burgess wrote.
After Thomas underwent the surgery to relieve the brain swelling, he went into a coma and was pronounced dead on Sunday night.
Earlier that afternoon, a vigil had been held at the Pike County high school, Williamson Mayor Steve Fry told WAGA-TV.
Hundreds showed up on Sunday for a vigil to honor Thomas, who died from a brain injury
Bystanders at Sunday’s vigil for Dylan Thomas could be seen weeping after his death
Football-related deaths in youth sports are somewhat rare, but happen every year.
There were a total of 13 deaths at least tangentially tied to the organized sport in 2017, out of a total of about four million young people participating, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.
Four of those deaths were the result of ‘direct’ causes from on-field trauma or injuries. ‘Indirect’ causes such as heatstroke or cardiac arrest contributed to the other nine.
In a tragic twist of irony, Thomas and his father, Darren, had taken special precautions to guard against befalling such a fate.
‘Dylan’s dad took his own money and bought an NFL-quality helmet for Dylan, because he was somewhat concerned about head injuries,’ Fry said.
Thomas was also seriously concerned about impairing others while engaging in the physically aggressive sport, Burgess said.
‘[Thomas] had the biggest heart,’ he wrote on Facebook. ‘[He was] the one that told me personally he was always scared to seriously hurt somebody on the field and never thought it would happen to him.’
The loss has been felt by his teammates, who knew him as the hardworking, thoughtful his uncle described.
Pike quarterback Jackson Holmes wrote on Twitter: ‘Rest easy Dylan Thomas, you will forever be in our hearts.’
Another classmate wrote on Instagram: Rest in Peace to such a wonderful guy. My first love. You were amazing. My brain isn’t even processing that you are gone. You will forever be loved’
Another classmate wrote on Instagram: ‘Rest in Peace to such a wonderful guy. My first love. You were amazing. My brain isn’t even processing that you are gone. You will forever be loved dilly poo.’
Despite the tragic loss of a star member in their community, the football team plans to press on this season, in memory of Thomas.
‘I want to get out there and play for him because that’s what he’d want for us,’ fellow Pike County player Jake Patterson told CNN affiliate WSB.
‘He’d want us to play for him instead of just quitting.’
Teammates held his jersey and walked with their arms locked together during Sunday’s vigi.