‘I’m hoping some miracle will happen’
Basketball star, 17, has been in a coma since March 25
Nearly two months since her17-yearold son collapsed during a basketball game, Suzett Ball says she’s still waiting for him to wake up.
Rayvonte Ball has been in a coma since he collapsed at a March 25 basketball game.
“I look at him and it breaks my heart because I can’t do anything for him,” Suzett said Saturday afternoon. “I just feel so lost.”
Friends and teammates described Rayvonte as a strong, healthy player. He seemed problem-free throughout the game, running up and down the court and scoring as usual, when all of a sudden he fell face first onto the floor in “slow motion.”
It was soon discovered his heart had stopped beating, and Suzett received a call that her son had suffered a seizure during the game.
He was moved to intensive care at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. There, doctors investigated whether Rayvonte has a heart rhythm condition called Long QT syndrome, which can potentially cause fainting or seizures.
But almost two months to the day he collapsed, Ball says she still doesn’t know why it happened.
Rayvonte remains at Sick Kids, although he’s no longer in intensive care. Next week, he’ll be transferred to a rehabilitation centre at Holland Bloorview Hospital, where doctors will try to stimulate his brain to pull him out of his coma.
Teammates and coaches have visited him in the hospital, including Jordan Pardo, Rayvonte’s high school basketball coach for the past two years at Central Tech.
Pardo called Rayvonte a hardworking player and a leader. He won the team’s most improved player award last season and served as captain of the team this past year.
“He would work really hard, working on his game,” Pardo said. “He loved basketball a lot.”
The coach said he’s working on a video of Rayvonte’s highlights from the past year to eventually present to him as a gift. When he visited the hospital, Pardo said he mentioned the film to Rayvonte.
“I believe that he could hear what I was saying,” Pardo said, adding the teen’s body moved and eyes twitched as the coach mentioned the project.
Ball, a homeless shelter support worker, said she spends almost every day by her son’s side.
She said she’s doing her best to remain optimistic.
“I’m hoping some miracle will happen where I can . . . say he’s awake,” she said. “I just pray that day will come.”