A 15-year-old high school football player died after suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing during gym class last week in Alaska, according to reports.
Levi Curry was declared brain-dead Friday night, Nov. 6, one day after he collapsed at Eagle River High School, according to a GoFundMe campaign created for his family.
In a statement, Curry’s family thanked school employees and paramedics for their rapid response. They said paramedics performed CPR while taking him to the hospital but were unable to save his life.
“Levi was more than a football player. He was a son, a friend, a teammate, a brother, and a valued member of our Wolves family,” the school’s football team wrote on Facebook.
Curry’s parents, Mary and James, told Alaska’s News Source that their son had been born with a heart condition, but a recent surgery had almost completely corrected it.
“The surgery basically healed it; other than that, he’s just like a normal kid,” James said.
The last conversation James had with his son was about Curry being recognized as one of the state’s top football players.
“Levi was so excited about that. He was really joyful, and he called his dad to tell him,” Mary said.
“I was out of town, and that was the last conversation I had with him. It was a good one,” James said.
Curry’s coach remembered him as a talented player whose upbeat personality lifted everyone around him.
“There were plenty of times when I could be having a bad day at work, and I’d get to the ball field and see him coming up. His smile would just kind of wash that bad day away,” Eagle River High School football coach Jonathan Wetzel said.
“In 17 years, I’ve never had a ninth-grader start on varsity, especially on the offensive line,” Wetzel added.
More than 500 people attended Curry’s funeral Wednesday.
“It’s amazing, it’s just amazing how many people showed up for Levi,” his older brother, Noah, said.
“I wasn’t really surprised because I knew he was popular,” his younger sister, Sarah, said.