Wednesday, September 24, 1997
Teen becomes suddenly ill
By JOHN STARBUCK / Abilene Reporter-News
MERKEL -- A Merkel High honor student is fighting for his life
in a Lubbock hospital after becoming seriously ill while visiting
relatives.
Heath Henderson, a junior who played noseguard for the Badgers
on Friday night, was in a medically induced coma Tuesday at University
Medical Center.
His father, Greg Henderson, a school trustee and office manager
at Taylor Electric Co-Op, said Heath was in critical condition
in the pediatric intensive care unit.
Doctors are "pretty sure it's a viral type of pneumonia,"
his father said.
Doctors advised the family to notify school officials that
if any players started feeling flu-like symptoms, they should
contact a doctor.
Coach Jack Dorsett said the team was notified. No players reported
any symptoms, he said.
Henderson's father said his son had a fever the weekend before
Friday's game and that he tired easily last week.
Henderson attended football practice Saturday morning. He later
was picked up for a trip to Lubbock by an aunt and his mother,
Dayna, who is a Merkel first-grade teacher.
Later that day, he attended the Texas Tech University football
game with relatives. By halftime, however, Henderson said he wasn't
feeling well, so he and his relatives returned to his sister's
home.
His mother took his temperature and saw that he had a 102-degree
fever. He then was taken to an emergency room, given fluids to
battle dehydration and released.
Early Sunday morning, he started vomiting and having other
problems, which were thought to be related to bronchitis and a
reaction to medication.
Family members eventually returned Henderson to the emergency
room for more treatment. He was admitted into the hospital Sunday
night.
Henderson's condition became progressively worse Monday afternoon,
requiring doctors to place him in ICU and on a ventilator. He
also was put into a coma.
"He's probably in for at least a 10-day stay up here,"
said Greg Henderson. "If it's viral, then it will have to
run its course."
Results of cultures sent to the Center for Disease Control
in Atlanta should be known soon.
"He's got a lot of people thinking about him, which we
are very thankful for," his father said
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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