HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Cypress Springs High School football player is still in a coma a week after suffering a heatstroke, according to his mother.
Jarvis Spires, 17, was training outside of school on July 5 when the heat began to take its toll.
“There’s a lot of athletes who don’t understand the importance of being hydrated and staying hydrated,” his mother, Alzadia Spires, said.
By the time Spires made it to the hospital, his mother said he was already in a coma.
Doctors managed to resuscitate him but then encountered more complications.
“His kidneys, liver, all his organs had failed,” Alzadia Spires said.
Doctors then transferred him to Texas Children’s Hospital.
When his lungs and heart failed Tuesday, his mother said doctors had to induce another coma and send her son in for emergency surgery.
“The last thing that he said was, ‘Jesus is my best friend.’ And when he said that, it just made me feel so good because I know he’s in good hands,” she said.
Spires’ family says they don’t know when he will be healthy enough to breathe on his own. But they’re confident he will eventually.
“The fact that he’s still breathing and he’s still here and there’s still a chance, and I know he’s gonna pull through – the doctors are saying this is a miracle,” Alzadia Spires said.
Spires said her son plans to one day play in the NFL and will likely use his experience to spread awareness about the dangers of heatstroke.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.