Florida Football Player, Jacquez Welch, Removed From Life Support After Collapsing On Field
ST. PETERSBURG (CBSMiami) — A Florida high school football player has been taken off life support days after collapsing during a game and now his organs will be donated to help saves the lives of others.
17-year-old Jacquez Welch played for Northeast High School in St. Petersburg.
During last Friday's game, he went down making a group tackle, and never got up.
Paramedics rushed him to a hospital, where doctors discovered a pre-existing, undiagnosed brain condition called arteriovenous malformation or A-V-M. They say he was born with the rare condition, which is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain.
Doctors say it's nearly impossible to detect A-V-M, even in brain scans.
"It's one of those things where it literally is a ticking time bomb in the head and there is no way to predict when something like this could happen," said Neurosurgeon Kirk Jobe.
Dr. Jobe says playing sports can make A-V-M more likely to rupture blood vessels, but it's so rare, that it is nearly impossible to prevent.
"That would be completely unpredictable. He could have had this getting up on a Saturday morning and having breakfast," said Dr. Jobe.
His mother said he has a good heart and the injury has nothing to do with football.
"Quez was a giving person; he would give to anyone and everyone if he had it. He wanted to do this and that's why I'm doing this," said Marcia Nelson. "I don't want nobody to be scared to play no sports, because they said if he was walking down the street not doing nothin', he could have fell out."
Nelson says his organs will be donated and seven lives will be saved by her 17-year-old son.
Welch had just received an offer to play football for Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota, next year.