A 15-year-old high school football standout died after suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing during gym class at an Alaska school last week, according to reports.
Levi Curry was declared brain-dead on the evening of Friday, Nov. 6, after collapsing the day before at Eagle River High School, according to a GoFundMe campaign created for his family.
In a statement, Curry’s family thanked school staff and paramedics for their swift response. They said paramedics performed CPR while taking him to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save him.
“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 said a recent surgery had nearly corrected it.
“The surgery basically healed it; other than that, he’s just like a normal kid,” James said.
The final conversation James had with his son centered on 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.
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“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 positivity stood out on the field.
“There were plenty of times when I could be having a bad day at work, and I could 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.
“I think 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 on Wednesday.
“It’s amazing, it’s just amazing how many people showed up for Levi,” Curry’s older brother, Noah, said.
“I wasn’t really surprised because I knew he was popular,” his younger sister, Sarah, said.
