Blood clot kills man, 24, hooked on web games
A FIT and healthy 24-year-old died from a blood clot after spending up to seven hours a day playing computer games during lockdown.
Louis O’Neill, 24, developed deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, after he took to gaming to combat boredom and “escape the nightmare that was going on outside”.
His parents raised the alarm after he collapsed in agony at home but medics were unable to save him.
Now his father Stanley Greening is warning of the dangers of staying cooped up in bedrooms.
Stanley, 56, said he wanted to send out a “Stand up for Louis” message to encourage others to move about and ward off inactivity.
Louis sought solace in gaming after being furloughed from his job at a Center Parcs holiday village.
His stricken dad, an artist who said he was now trapped in a “living hell” himself, said: “Caught up in a virtual world he became less active.
“Hours fly by when absorbed by the screen. But no one ever would have predicted a blood clot.
“And just like that, it ripped my son away and I died inside along with him. Who is warning anyone? No one. So I am. My son will live on, I shall continue to spread this warning in his name.”
Stanley, of Harlington, Beds, went on: “My son has gone. Not from the evil virus, but because of it.
“This terrible thing was preventable had he or we known such risks. It is very rare in such circumstances but speaking to medical professionals I discover there have been a number of cases in youngsters during this lockdown.
“As more and more of us are working from home it is likely you are not getting out of your chair.
“Stand up, walk around and warn your kids. If I can prevent one loss that’s one bright light that will shine on Louis. So stand up for Louis.”
DVT is often linked to elderly people and air travel but research suggests anyone who sits still for long periods – at work, at home or travelling – is at risk.
A study in 2018 found computer gamers as young as 12 have suffered potentially deadly blood clots.
Stanley said Louis had been “quite jolly” at first after being put on paid leave. But he gradually put on weight and lost interest in everything except gaming.
The dad said: “Six to seven hours at a time, probably with very little break. He was sitting there all day.
“There were times when I would get up for breakfast and and I would realise he had been up all night.”
Two weeks before Louis died, his dad found him sitting on a stair at 5.30am pleading for help.
Mr Greening said he called 111 and a doctor suggested food poisoning. But later Louis began to complain that his leg was bothering him.
On the night he died his parents found him bent double at the top of the stairs and got him into his room.
Mr Greening said: “He sat on the floor against the bed and said, ‘Dad what’s happening to me?’.
“I remember Louis saying to me that Boris Johnson had said, ‘We are going to lose some loved ones’. This was so preventable.”