A Jackson State football player went into cardiac arrest on Wednesday morning and is now in stable, but critical condition, his family announced. In a series of tweets, Kaseem Vauls’ father, William, said that his son arrived at the University of Mississippi Medical Center on Tuesday night suffering from stomach pains before suffering a cardiac arrest the following morning.
Speaking with The Clarion-Ledger, William said that his son had been feeling under the weather for a couple of weeks. He told his son to go to the emergency room, but Kaseem participated in activities with the football team, despite dealing with stomach pains. William said his son did not inform coaches or trainers at Jackson State about any physical ailments.
“What the doctors think happened,” William Vauls said. “that when Kaseem’s heart was failing, that what was giving him the stomach pains. His liver was suffering as fluid built up with toxins in his liver, kidneys and blood. All those toxins built up in his blood stream and his heart could not operate properly and the machine is being used to clean out the blood and toxins.”
William said that a cardiologist informed him his son’s heart was functioning at 10-15%.
William offered the latest update via Kaseem’s Twitter page on Thursday morning. Willaim indicated that the emergency procedure Kaseem underwent went well, but his son was still heavily sedated. His son’s doctors informed William that he is progressing, but is still in stable condition.
Hey Everyone this is William, Kaseem father the emergency procedure went well but it is still heavily sedated. The doctors said he progressing they will gradually lower down his medication he on and the lower down the input of the machine he on gradually, which is a good sign
— Kaseem Vauls (@KVauls52) February 16, 2023
William last tweeted an update from his son’s Twitter page on Thursday night, thanking many of those for the support. He told The Clarion-Ledger that the Jackson State football team put him up in a hotel for five nights and that he and his family are grateful for the support.
Hi everyone this William, Kaseem father I just want to say all you guys have been a blessing supporting my son with prayers, calls, donations etc, I appreciate it I love you guys from the alumni, faculty, football coaches, students, teammates I thank you from the bottom of my ❤️
— Kaseem Vauls (@KVauls52) February 16, 2023
A former three-star recruit out of Columbia, South Carolina, Kaseem has yet to appear in a game for Jackson State. He redshirted at Alabama A&M during his freshman season before moving to Jackson State.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.