The father of a young man who lost his life to Deep Vein Thrombosis has advised parents not to stop their children from playing video games - but warned that extended play sessions should be broken up.
DVT-related clots are usually caused by extended periods of immobility.
Chris's father believes that long, movement-free sessions spent both gaming and using social networks contributed to his son's death.
Recounting the last night of Chris's life to BBC Look North, David Staniforth said: "He'd probably been on the computer on Facebook or gaming all night."
David said that Chris drove to the Job Centre the following day. After parking, Chris told a friend that he'd suffered from a "pounding" in his chest - now believed to be a blood clot passing through his heart. He died shortly afterwards.
Despite some scary tabloid reports of Chris' death appearing over the weekend ('Death By Xbox', said The Sun's front page), David commented that gaming was "great fun" - but recommended that parents monitor the number of hours their children spend in front of the PC or TV screen.
"Don't stop your child from playing the games," he said. "They love doing it. It's great fun. It's not to bug them about it or spoil their fun. But just be aware. Enjoy it, but take a break."
David is now in the process of setting up a website with Chris's friends to warn people of the dangers of spending lengthy spells immobile.
"This is not normal in such a young person," he commented. "It's [usually] immobile people in hospital, and those that have been brought to hospital with DVTs after long-haul flights."
Comments
49 comments so far...
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
He speaks remarkable sense considering he has just lost his son.
Balladeer on 1 Aug '11 said:
What a sensible, well-adjusted man.
deepbluerd on 1 Aug '11 said:
I do feel sorry for the guys loss but then why didn't he tell his son to take a break? Instead of letting him play 12 hours a day? Did he not have a job or anything?
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
Have you tried telling a teen to get off the game...never mind a 20 year old!
G_R7 on 1 Aug '11 said:
Considering what has happened this man needs to be saluted! Normally they would just blame Gaming and be done with it.
Clusks on 1 Aug '11 said:
Feel sorry for him, even more so for the fact that his words have been taken out of context by the sun and didn't portray the message he truly wanted to get across.
I'm glad the phone hacking scandal was uncovered, it's created a lot of distaste for the tabloids that they fully deserve.
mental_mick on 1 Aug '11 said:
I never thought I'd see the day that The Sun would take things completely out of context, being such a reliable newspaper and all.
Sorry for your loss David...thoughts are with you
robbo666 on 1 Aug '11 said:
If this man needs a hand to raise awareness of some of the troubles I truly hope he gets it and I hope that his work isnt taken out of context and made to look like a hate campaign on gaming!
I do believe that is a regret he has and why he is trying to raise awareness for other people to not make similar mistakes.
Also his son was at the job centre so im guessing (obviously i could be wrong) he didnt have a job.
STEVONYMO on 1 Aug '11 said:
I once had a funny turn whilst playing WOW! My legs ached at the top and I went light headed...I had been sat for 6 hours and I guess my circulation was struggling. I work out and run a fair bit so I guess the warning is it can happen to anyone!
Laughlyn on 1 Aug '11 said:
yer but seriously. at 20 the guy should have known better than sitting in front the computer for 12hours. he's not a kid anymore he's a young adult he should have to count on his parents to tell him when and how long he can play his games. Theres been plenty of stories about folk dying of DVT and its quite common knowledge now.
I have a stroppy 7yr old who isnt best pleased when he has to come off games since his mum is one of the folk who use it as a babysitting tool so when he comes to mine at weekends he just wants to sit on his ds or my ps3 all day. I love games as much as the next gamer but you use commonsense n i kick him off it n send him outside for a few hours otherwise i just get 'I'm Boorrred' from moment he stops playing on em til moment he goes back on it, having a stroppy kid isnt a reason to just leave em huddled up in a room all day. i wanted to when i was a kid so i understand the issue but my parents did same to me and got me off it for a bit. Parents just cant be arsed these days they'd rather risk their kids dying than put any effort into raising them on both food and entertainment
metallicorphan on 1 Aug '11 said:
I think we have a new hero for this weeks CVG Heroes and Villains article
TheLastDodo on 1 Aug '11 said:
Thats something I didn't expect him to say, props to the guy for keeping level headed.
kirankara on 1 Aug '11 said:
Like anything in life, balance is required , tok much of anything will kill you, even tok much excercise isn't great for you,
Is sad that this kid died, but crikey it sounds like like he was bit of social recluse who didn't get out much at all.
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
Where is A3HM and rbt2 to call everyone t**ts in here for feeling sorry for someone who has died?
RichPerry on 1 Aug '11 said:
Good on this guy, he's remaining balanced and fair even though he just lost his son. He deserves a medal, compared to some reactions to gaming in the media.
spooney100 on 1 Aug '11 said:
I take it you didn't read the whole article otherwise you would of seen the sentence stating he went to the job centre. Who are you Karl Pilkington?
Try reading the whole article first before commenting!
As for this guys poor parents I do feel for them and I'm sure they did try to get their son do more active things but as someone here already said he probably never listened to them.
Even after their loss his dad still speaks sense but unfortunately the tabloids probably won't pick up this.
If he had completely blamed gaming then they more than likely would have knowing them.
I wish them all the best and good luck with their plans.
KK-Headcharge78 on 1 Aug '11 said:
Example no.45826542 of how the Sun never represents anything like the whole story.
My cat would be a better journalist and she spends her days pooing nuclear poo and chewing my turtle beaches.
ginsin on 1 Aug '11 said:
I watched the interview with the father a couple of days ago, and he came across very calm and balanced; which must be hard seeing as he has lost his son.
djreplay on 1 Aug '11 said:
The quote from the father is straight out of the Sun, some of you people trying to say the paper's the guilty party.
StonecoldMC on 1 Aug '11 said:
This +100!
Considering what he is going through, thats a very dignified stance he's taking there. Hero indeed!
richm74 on 1 Aug '11 said:
Gotta agree with most people here that the gentleman, although going thru hell, is keeping it steady and not going thru the normal kneejerk emotional response of wanting to blame someone/something in the face of such overpowering grief.
Of course the tabloids can't make the same excuse as it doesn't directly affect them. Just gives them a chance to blow the usual hot air towards their idiot readership who take what is said in the redtops (and the broadsheets for that matter) as fact.
Way to go Sun/Mail readers. Rest your weary stupid heads and let someone else do your thinking for you.
My condolences to the boys family. I can't bear the thought of either of my kids dying. I certainly wouldn't be as strong as the gentleman above.
jdkoke on 1 Aug '11 said:
I thought it wis more that you were tellin otha people how to behave and I can't say I disagreed wi them, If you wanna be all sad n whateva fine but don't tell anyone else how to act or feel. That's my opinion anyway, jump on ma back if ya want
nathar on 1 Aug '11 said:
Do you think we can get the S*n shut down?
kirankara on 1 Aug '11 said:
Maybe so, but so was the headline "death by xbox" , which implies the xbox was directly responsible for his death, a opposed to his general lack of movement and him dying as result of dvt. His dad is quoted as saying he presumes it was from playing xbox and going on social network sites all night, so death was caused by his general lack of physical activity, which lead to his death , not specifically playing xbox.
Daily mail will be hating the fathers comments and loving the fact this kid died.
wwinterj on 1 Aug '11 said:
The guy who died was 20 not "children" but I understand where this guy is coming from and he speaks sense.
His son who died was 20 years old so nothing his farther said would make him change his ways. It's unfortunate that common sense only presents itself when tragedy happens.
I spend way to much time on the Internet or playing games/watching TV than I should due to been out of work. The only difference is I'm 24 and do get out everyday doing day to day things and yes that involves visiting the Job center but I walk a lot.
Many things could have contributed to this death but I do feel bad for his Farther. My thoughts are with him.
TheLastDodo on 1 Aug '11 said:
Slick never once told anyone how to act or feel. Infact he actually said this in the other thread:
"If you wanna make jokes about someone dying, well then do what you gotta do...I hope it makes you feel good about yourself. I just don't understand why you have to jump on people who do have a soul, do you just feel guilty because you feel nothing? I feel terribly bad for him and his family...so sue me!"
Looks like we've got another sufferer of Arsene Wenger syndrome
.
Imaduck on 1 Aug '11 said:
This guy deserves a spot on the weekly heroes list.
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
If you actually read the other thread before throwing accusations at me you would of got you facts right and you wouldn't look an idiot right now. But I am a nice guy so I went and fetched the direct quote of what was said:
Now, who was telling who how to feel? All I said was R.I.P and what did I get? I get called a cock for showing remorse.
Yeah.
Imaduck on 1 Aug '11 said:
Come on Slick, don't mix threads like that, tis evil!
wasted-again on 1 Aug '11 said:
Not that I'm sayin' nuffin, but, he don't don't look to healthy himself... Maybe go for a walk?
gmcb007 on 1 Aug '11 said:
Fair play to the guy, he speaks sense. As for the whole Slick fiasco; I don't know why he was responded to in quite frankly, a pathetic response.
He wasn't guilt tripping anyone. Get your facts straight.
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
jdkoke on 1 Aug '11 said:
If you actually read the other thread before throwing accusations at me you would of got you facts right and you wouldn't look an idiot right now. But I am a nice guy so I went and fetched the direct quote of what was said:
I did read it. To me asking other people to 'remember someone has died' is tellin other people what to do in regards to them showin - or not as the case may be - respect. If people wanted to show respect they would and if they didn't they wouldn't. Like I said it's jus my opnion but I can understand where they were coming from. I wouldn't even have replied again if you weren't an arse about it.
Give you and the maggots that stuck their nose in an example.
My best mate died 2 months ago and I wis takin the p**s outa him all day, keeping folk amused and getting proper f**ked at his funeral 'cus that's how we were. I remember some (English) t**t we never liked saying pretty much the same thing as you did 'cus there always has to be that one t**t that says it anytime someone dies. Especially an Englishman at a Scottish funeral. I gave him a special Scottish kiss. Anyway the boy that died coulda been one o them people that would make jokes and everything when someone died whetha he knew them or nae so who are you to tell people to remember someone has died so no jokes?
To me yer post sounded condescending, maybe it didn't to others. But I ain't gonna greet if you or yer pathetic little merry mob of defenders dinna agree 'cus am jus filling in time until am finished work
Imaduck on 1 Aug '11 said:
Come on guys f**king stop it already. Spend your lives doing things you enjoy!
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
You are just a complete hypocrite. That is all I have to say.
Sorry duck, you shouldn't of needed to ask twice.
TheLastDodo on 1 Aug '11 said:
Wow Sgt. Slaughter called me a maggot.
I'm going to tell my grandchildren about this someday
.
Imaduck on 1 Aug '11 said:
You don't need to be sorry man, I just thought you were running yourself in circles. There's people on here with different views, and we can't argue that out, there's no real need to. Personally, I'm one for showing respect, as best I can, even though I don't know them. But then there's the other side, people who don't feel the need to show unbased respect to someone they never met, which is very reasonable. Some of us attach ourselves to the world around us probably more than we should ( I know I do, frustrating
) others, deal with their immediate surroundings. Either way is fine, it's who we are.
I think there was concern that you were being Mister "I care because it makes me look good in social circles" which can be infuriating to see, but you weren't, those sort of people tend to avoid sites like this. So a harsh attack on you for that assumption was, well way overboard frankly, but people can be passionate. But it's all water under the bridge. It's done and it's not worth you all argueing over it. There's better things to do, even watching paint dry would probably more productive and stimulating than argueing approaches to life
We can all be knobs, I am frequently. In the process of argueing who was being a knob here, everyone would probably end up showing their worst and running in circles. So let it go, you got better things to do, we only live once. Peace dude 
slick loose on 1 Aug '11 said:
That was beautiful...I just have something in my eye
Btw, I know I am a nob. But I felt I was unjustifiably attacked and anyone who has known me for more than 5 seconds knows I won't stand for that s**t. But I have seen the error of my ways duck, you are wise beyond your years and you have shown me the light
duende667 on 1 Aug '11 said:
It would be nice if cvg would draft an e-mail to the family convaying our condolences that we could all put our name to. As you can see by my spelling and grammer i don't have the required skills.
Lady Gagagged on 1 Aug '11 said:
I feel for the dad who just comes across as a great human being. I have a twenty year old daughter whom I encouraged to play the SNES many years ago. She has other interests which I'm grateful for as at one point in her mid teens I thought I'd lost her to the Tales series. She'd play for hours, skipping meals and sleeping at odd times. I can appreciate that some people think that parents should have beeen sterner, but tyou can only say that in hindsight.
RBT and A3HM are entitled to the view that the death of a stranger is no reason to feel a connection with the circumstances of their death, but you can't force us to be that way. If my daughter had passed away I would hope that people here would support me through. For all we know he was a member and like many will just join the ranks of "Whatever happened to?". There is never a reason to be disrepectful about how another views the passing of a life.
I've listened to songs, watched films and read books that have reduced me to tears about fictional characters and events, so why wouldn't the death of a kindred gamer evoke a level of sympathy for his family?
Windowlicker79 on 1 Aug '11 said:
Yeah, at the age of 20 he really is a young adult and past the times of his parents telling him when to stop playing games and go to bed. Its a shame this happened, but he probably didn't say anything because he probably didn't realise that his son's all night gaming sessions would end up killing him. He must have been out of work for quite some time and spent every waking hour sat in front of a computer/console for DVT to take effect and work its way into his heart. It clearly wasn't normal behaviour and won't affect the average gamer.
kimoak on 1 Aug '11 said:
Got to give respect for David. It's got to be hell. REally feel for he bloke.
And I a have always thought Slickloose to be a nice bloke. Just saying and all that.
slick loose on 2 Aug '11 said:
A big manly Bear hug for you Kimoak, FEEL MY LOVE!
http://iamgratefulhowareyou.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/bear-hug.jpg
Balladeer on 2 Aug '11 said:
You guys make me sick.
slick loose on 2 Aug '11 said:
I think somebody else wants a hug...come on...come on...yeah there you go. You feel that, that's my love...I think the scientific term is an 'erection'.
http://www.happysad.be/HL-files/anatomy.gif
Balladeer on 2 Aug '11 said:
I refuse to rise to the bait.
See what I did there?
slick loose on 2 Aug '11 said:
I DID!
But just in case some of the slower people didn't get it, maybe you should italic, bold and underline "rise"...
RandyChimp on 2 Aug '11 said:
So basically this man is talking common sense and giving us a fair warning from experience, rather than taking The Daily Mail route of saying videogames murdered the kid.
Metatasian on 2 Aug '11 said:
He deserves a Darwin Award