'It's Tough For Us:' Tulsa High School Football Player Recovering From Heat Stroke Suffered During Practice

It may be getting cooler out, but Aug. 27 was scorching, with temperatures in the 90s.

For East Central High School junior Taeshawn Nelson, the heat that Tuesday put him in the hospital. Now his father, Toby, says Taeshawn is fighting for his life.

“It's just tough right now, it's just tough for us,” he said. 

The football player had a heatstroke during practice. Toby says he was at work when he got a call from the coach saying Taeshawn wasn’t acting normal. By the time Toby and EMS arrived, Taeshawn declined quickly.

“He was nonresponsive, and it was very tough to see him like that,” said Toby. 

He’s now battling liver and kidney damage caused by the heat. Tulsa Public Schools says on Aug. 27, the football team did take precautions to guard against heat-related illness, like adding breaks and limiting practice time. 

Toby says his son is strong and healthy, but even he wasn’t immune to this happening.

“I honestly couldn’t believe it because he had been practicing all summer and never indicated anything that something like this could happen,” he said. 

The two-week hospital stay has not only been emotionally hard for the family but it's also been hard financially.

“Being the only person that works for my family and the sole provider, I haven’t been able to work since this happened and bills are piling up, and all I can even think about is my son,” said Toby. 

Toby says there’s no timeline for Taeshawn’s recovery.

“Told me it could take weeks to months,” he said. 

So for now, the family is taking it one day at a time and relying on faith to get them through.

“I just know that God has seen him through this far, and God’s going to see him through the rest of the way,” said Toby. 

Toby encourages young athletes to keep water close at hand and to listen to their bodies.

TPS sent News On 6 this statement regarding the incident on Aug. 27:

"Our thoughts are with Taeshawn Nelson and his family, as well as the East Central High School community, and we wish this young man a rapid and complete recovery. 

There is nothing we take more seriously than the safety of our students and team members. To protect our student athletes, all Tulsa Public Schools Athletics teams adhere to the National Athletic Trainer Association’s activity guidelines to guard against exertional heat illness, and our football teams are each equipped with Kestrel Heat Stress Tracker devices to monitor and respond to weather conditions in real-time. 

We will continue to fully support the East Central community as they rally around Taeshawn and his family."

To view the family's GoFundMe, CLICK HERE.