Ex-Cowboys player Springs hospitalized in a coma Associated Press
DALLAS -- Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs has been hospitalized in a coma, more than seven months after receiving a kidney donated by ex-teammate Everson Walls.
The Washington Redskins said Tuesday that cornerback Shawn Springs, son of the 50-year-old Springs, has left the team to be with his father.
"(Shawn) has flown down there - it's a very tough time for them because I think it's very, very serious," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused Ron Springs, who has diabetes, to lapse into a coma or when he was hospitalized. Calls to the family weren't returned.
Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT first reported Springs' condition.
In February, Walls donated his kidney to the ailing Springs, who had suffered from diabetes for 16 years and had been on the national transplant waiting list since 2004. It was the first transplant between two former U.S. professional athletes.
The disease confined Springs to a wheelchair and led to the amputation of his right foot and the big and middle toes on his left foot.
In an August interview with The Associated Press, Springs said he could feel his health improving each day since the transplant.
"I'm feeling very good," he said at the time. "Every day I get a little bit better."
Springs played eight seasons in the NFL, six with the Cowboys and two in Tampa Bay, before retiring after the 1986 season. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cowboys out of Ohio State.
In the four seasons Springs and Walls played together in Dallas, the two forged a strong friendship. Springs is the godfather of Walls' oldest daughter, and Walls received the same honor for Springs' youngest.
This summer, Ron and Shawn Springs visited several cities in a campaign to increase awareness of diabetes.
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Report: Ex-Cowboy Springs has no chance of survival
October 17, 2007
IRVING, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The family of former Dallas Cowboys running back Ron Springs on Wednesday was told by doctors that he has no hope of survival, according to a newspaper report.
Citing a source with knowledge of the situation, the Dallas Morning News reported that Springs has no hope of recovery after he lapsed into a coma following complications from surgery on Saturday.
On Tuesday, television station KTVT said Springs was on a respirator and has no brain activity.
Springs had received a kidney from former Cowboys teammate Everson Walls nearly eight months ago.
Shawn Springs, a cornerback for the Washington Redskins, left the team Tuesday to be with his father.
Ron Springs, 50, has suffered from diabetes for 16 years and was on the national transplant waiting list since 2004, according to the report.
The kidney transplant from Walls had seemed to improve his quality of life.
The disease led to Springs having his right foot amputated, as well as two toes on his left foot. He also was confined to a wheelchair.
In the Cowboys' season opener against the New York Giants on September 9, the team designated Springs and Walls as honorary captains in a pregame ceremony.
Springs played for the Cowboys for six seasons (1979-84) before winding up his career for two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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