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Teenage Gamer Suffers Stroke After Playing For 22 Hours Each Day

Teenage Gamer Suffers Stroke After Playing For 22 Hours Each Day

Doctors say the youngster suffered a stroke as a result of malnutrition and vitamin deficiency

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A teenage boy who was addicted to playing games on his mobile phone suffered a stroke and has been left paralysed down one side.

The 15-year-old Chinese boy slept for only two hours each evening for an entire month in the lead-up to his illness.

His mother had bought him the smartphone so that he could keep on top of his school work, and while he did start streaming the classes when the lockdown started in February, he quickly fell into a routine of playing online games against his friends for as much as 22 hours each day.

Xiao Bin has so far undergone more than four months of intensive physiotherapy and oxygen treatment at the Guangxi Jiangbin Hospital in Nanning, following the stroke in March.

AsiaWire

His mother, Ms Meng, spoke to Nanning Television on 7 July, and said: "My husband and I would leave for work early every morning and not come home until after 6pm.

"Xiao Bin would stay at home alone by himself. He would continue to use his phone at night, saying he was still catching up with the day's lessons.

"He would lock himself in his room. We really thought he was taking his online classes."

She explained that she would bring her son meals to get him through the day, but would often discover that they'd been left uneaten at the end of the day.

The teenager subsisted on a diet of snacks and beverages for a month.

AsiaWire

His mother added: "He was just playing games. He didn't have proper meals and didn't rest. He slept two hours a day at most.

"Then on 1 March, my husband called to say our son had collapsed.

"He had fainted and was sitting limp by the side of his bed. We called an ambulance.

"They did a CT scan at the local hospital and said he had had a stroke. They said we had to bring him to Nanning."

It is thought that his stroke was caused by vitamin deficiency and malnutrition, and has left him unable to move his left arm and hand, as well as causing the left side of his face to collapse.

AsiaWire

Neurologist Li Chunhong said: "He hadn't gone back to school and had an irregular schedule.

"His lifestyle had changed, and his parents let him eat nothing but snacks.

"Medically speaking, he lacked nutrients, and his brain lacked blood and oxygen, causing his stroke."

While the young man can now move his left arm and thumb once again, his physio Dr Jin Honghua said that he may never get his full functions back.

He explained: : "It's very difficult for us to determine whether he can make a full recovery.

"However, the sooner you intervene, the faster the recovery. This is especially the case for younger patients who tend to recover faster."

Featured Image Credit: AsiaWire

Topics: World News, Weird, China