Teen ‘gamer’ collapses after four-day Xbox marathon

Tyler Rigsby, 15, of Columbus, Ohio, only came out of his room to use the bathroom, have a quick shower and grab some snacks from the kitchen, his mom told media.

She said her son was so addicted to the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, that she hardly saw him for four days.

The New York Daily News reported that when Tyler and his mother visited a relative on Tuesday morning, the teenager collapsed three times.

"I was very scared,” his mother, Jessie Rawlins, told WCMH.

“I thought he was going to die."

The Seattle Times said this is just the latest health scare from excessive hardcore gaming. In July, an 18-year-old man died in a Taiwan Internet cafe after a 40-hour session of Diablo III.

Tyler was more fortunate and was treated in hospital for dehydration, and given intravenous fluids.

Dr. Mike Patrick, an emergency physician at the hospital, warned gamers to avoid marathon sessions without sleep or fluids.

As for Tyler, he won't be playing video games any time soon. 

"The Xbox is gone," his mother said.