Teen Collapses After Playing ‘Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ For 5 Days Straight

Ohio teen Tyler Rigsby collapsed and was hospitalized after playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for five days straight. Tyler Rigsby,15, was dehydrated and his lips were turning blue when he turned to stare at his aunt and collapsed onto the floor, the New York Daily News reports.

The Ohio teenager’s Modern Warfare 3 multi-day binge landed him in Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus. Tyler Rigsby is the second case of recent health issues brought on by hardcore gaming. In July a young man identified only as Chuang, died at an Internet cafe in Taiwan after playing Diablo III for 40 hours.

Tyler Rigsby’s mother Jessie Rawlins told WCMH-TV that her son became engrossed in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 first-person shooting game. According to Rawlins, he only set his game controller aside briefly to grab a snack and Mountain Dew or to use the bathroom. Jessie Rawlins added that Tyler Rigsby’s Xbox is now gone. Rawlins also maintains her son “grabbed a few hours of sleep here and there” during the marathon Call of Duty gaming session.

“I was scared. I thought he was going to die,” Rawlins stated during the interview with the local television station.

Tyler Rigsby and his mother went to visit his aunt Jennifer Thompson in Columbus on Tuesday at 5:30 a.m. according to the Columbus Dispatch. The teen hardcore gamer’s mother also noted her son had collapsed three times yesterday. Tyler Rigsby’s aunt stated during the same interview that she and her sister were talking when they heard a thump and when she looked over, the teenager was on the ground.

The Columbus Dispatch reports Tyler Rigsby first collapsed into his aunt’s television, stood back up and then passed out again. The Call of Duty gamer was able to pick himself up again, told his mother he just needed to go home and get some sleep and attempted to walk out the door, but “stumbled everywhere” and passed out a third time. Tyler Rigsby’s mother noted that after the second time her son collapsed, he was “very pale.”

Tyler Rigsby was released from Ohio State University Hospital after being given intravenous fluids to rehydrate his system. Dr. Mike Patrick cautioned parents and gamers to avoid marathon gaming sessions without fluids or sleep. During an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Jessie Rawlins relayed her surprise about her son’s collapse, noting she had no idea playing video games could cause illness. Tyler Rigsby is expected to make a full recovery from the dehydration and exhaustion brought on by playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for five days.