A 12-year-old boy may have less than a day to live after he was taken to the hospital for a heat stroke he had at football practice.
Johnny Tolbert, 12, was doing conditioning drills at Welcome All Park last Thursday in South Fulton County about 7:30 p.m. when he passed out in 90-degree weather, Channel 2 Action News reported. Atlanta has had 41 consecutive days of 90-degree weather this summer.
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“It’s definitely on the brink of being fatal,” Tolbert’s aunt Razhonge Landers told Channel 2.
His grandmother, Bridget Simpson, said doctors will know more within 24 hours.
Tolbert’s family told Channel 2 Johnny has severe brain swelling.
This was Tolbert’s first year at Welcome All Panthers and he has no history of seizures, family members said.
The park’s football league commissioner said he wants parents to hydrate their children and recommends coaches get players to drink at least four times during practice.
Family members told Channel 2 they were concerned coaches were overworking players.
Landers said she isn’t blaming anyone, but doesn’t want this to happen to another kid.
“You need to know what procedures to take if a child passes out from heat,” she said.
VIDEO: 12-year-old suffers heat stroke during heat practice
Surviving the heat
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