An Illinois high school football player remains in critical condition after he developed a sort of a virus that is apparently attacking his heart a day after it is believed he suffered a concussion during a game.
As reported by Illinois NBC affiliate KWQC and ABC affiliate WQAD, Moline (Ill.) High School sophomore football player Dakovion “Kovi” Kennedy suffered what was believed to be a concussion during a Moline football game, then developed a fever, was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a virus that required rest.
After multiple days he had still not made significant progress, was transported to a larger children’s hospital in Peoria, Ill., and had a pacemaker implanted in his neck.
While Kennedy remains in critical condition, his family has fundraised thousands of dollars via crowdsourcing to help pay for his medical bills, which continue to mount.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of unknown and we don’t want to jump to conclusion on things but we’re all praying and hoping that they can figure out what’s wrong and what kind of virus this is so they can actually treat it and get him back on the road to recovery,” Moline football coach Mike Morrissey told WQED.
