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That sucks. I remember a few games ago the Cowboy had both Springs and Walls as the honorary coin tossers.
Ex-Cowboys player Springs hospitalized in a coma
By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer
October 16, 2007
DALLAS (AP) -- Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs has been hospitalized in a coma, more than seven months after receiving a kidney donated by ex-teammate Everson Walls.
The Washington Redskins said Tuesday that cornerback Shawn Springs, son of the 50-year-old Springs, has left the team to be with his father.
"(Shawn) has flown down there -- it's a very tough time for them because I think it's very, very serious," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused Ron Springs, who has diabetes, to lapse into a coma or when he was hospitalized. Calls to the family weren't returned.
Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT first reported Springs' condition.
n February, Walls donated his kidney to the ailing Springs, who had suffered from diabetes for 16 years and had been on the national transplant waiting list since 2004. It was the first transplant between two former U.S. professional athletes.
The disease confined Springs to a wheelchair and led to the amputation of his right foot and the big and middle toes on his left foot.
In an August interview with The Associated Press, Springs said he could feel his health improving each day since the transplant.
"I'm feeling very good," he said at the time. "Every day I get a little bit better."
Springs played eight seasons in the NFL, six with the Cowboys and two in Tampa Bay, before retiring after the 1986 season. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys out of Ohio State.
In the four seasons Springs and Walls played together in Dallas, the two forged a strong friendship. Springs is the godfather of Walls' oldest daughter, and Walls received the same honor for Springs' youngest.
This summer, Ron and Shawn Springs visited several cities in a campaign to increase awareness of diabetes.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns
That sucks. I remember a few games ago the Cowboy had both Springs and Walls as the honorary coin tossers.
Bleak outlook for Springs
Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs, hospitalized in a coma, reportedly has "no hope he will survive."
The Dallas Morning News reports doctors made that statement to the family of Springs, who has been unconscious since soon after he entered Dallas Medical City Hospital last week. The paper reports friends believed the 50-year-old Springs went to the hospital to have a cyst removed from one of his arms.
The Cowboys Web site indicates the cyst was removed from his elbow, and a former teammate said Springs has been on a respirator since the surgery, and no brain activity has been detected.
Springs started suffering from diabetes since the early 1990s and that led to his right foot being amputated. Three years ago he was put on a national transplant list for a kidney, and former teammate Everson Walls agreed to donate one of his kidneys to Springs. The transplant took place this past March. Springs was drafted by the Cowboys in 1979. He played eight seasons in the NFL, six with the Cowboys and two with Tampa Bay. He is the father of current Washington Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs.
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default...ABN4108162.htm
Those of us who follow the Star and are over the age of 30 remember Ron Springs as a player. Very sad news.
Props to the Redskins organization as well for supporting Shawn Springs at this time.
Very very sad.
He was a great person. Hopefully he can somehow overcome this just like Everett. So sad to hear this. Especially to hear that he has "no hope". That is just flat-out heartbreaking.
I cannot understand how you can go into the hospital to have something done to your elbow and end up on a respirator. Very sad. Ron was a favorite player of mine as a kid.
I agree that the description given of a cyst removal sounds like something that would be considered low-risk. All surgery has risks associated with the use of anesthesia and other medications. And somebody with severe diabetes who is on immune suppresion medications is going to be at even higher risk.
If that's the case, then he should have been discouraged from having the procedure done unless the cyst was life-threatening. If it was, then it doesn't matter, and it's just one of those unfortunate things. We'll see how it plays out, but by the way it reads, it doesn't look good.
God Bless him and his family
Has There Been Any Updates?
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