Paul Houle Jr. can thank Apple for being alive, after his heart, liver and kidneys were all shutting down after a recent football practice.
“Doctors told me that if I had not said anything and gone to practice the next day, I very easily could have died,” Houle told The Huffington Post over the phone.
Houle, a senior at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, had come down with an acute condition called rhabdomyolysis.
Houle was reportedly dehydrated and overheated from participating in two practices in one day, and the muscles in his body had begun to break down and release a protein into his bloodstream that was causing his vital organs to fail.
Houle said that after the day’s second practice, he felt back pain whenever he took a deep breath.
“I thought I was just sore and a little out of shape because the practice was hard. I didn’t think much of it,” he said. “Later, when I was at the hospital, they let me know that my back pain was actually my kidneys failing.”
Houle, who spent three days in the hospital, is still suffering from fatigue and muscle soreness and isn’t sure when he’ll be able to play sports again.
Thank god for that watch.
By Glenn Erby
