A 17-year-old high school football has died from consuming too much water during practice. Yes, you heard that correctly. Zyrees Oliver was set to begin his senior year at Douglas County High School in Douglasville, GA, but instead his family mourns his death from yet another case of dehydration. Of course, the twist to this story is that Oliver thought he was doing the right thing by drinking more water.
According to reports, Oliver was suffering from cramps in practice last Tuesday. He drank two gallons of water and two gallons of gatorade to help the condition. His family says that he was feeling better Tuesday evening, but things worsened Wednesday morning when Oliver collapsed in his home and was subsequently rushed to the hospital.
Doctors confirmed that Zyrees was brain dead, a direct result of massive brain swelling caused by water intoxication. Early this morning, Zyrees’ family decided to take him off life support. Zyrees and his family only moved to Georgia just a year ago from New Jersey, and now they are attempting to raise money via gofundme to afford to take their son’s body back to New Jersey for funeral services.
‘The water flooded his system and his brain started to swell,’ his cousin Bryant Stewart explained to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
His aunt, Tammy Chavis, added: ‘You think with dehydration, the more water you give, the better you’re making it. No, not in all cases, it does the opposite.’
While rare, water intoxication is caused when too much water is consumed in a short period of time, diluting other nutrients in the body and putting pressure on the brain. If not treated, it can lead to coma or death.
Our thoughts go out to the Olivers in this horrible tragedy. The principal at Douglas County High School, Tim Scott, has made grief counselors available for students to help deal with the untimely death of their friend and classmate.
[h/t Daily Mail]