The case was shared on social media on March 1 by Lin Ting, an intensive care unit nurse in Taiwan, as a warning about the dangers of extreme sleep deprivation.
The story was subsequently reported by various Chinese-language news outlets.
The unnamed student had been gaming almost continuously with only short breaks for food and the bathroom. His mother tried multiple times to persuade him to turn off the computer, but he refused.
On the fourth night, as he stood up to use the bathroom, his family heard him scream. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor unconscious. He was rushed to the emergency room, where scans revealed a suspected ruptured cerebral artery and severe brain hemorrhaging.
Surgeons operated immediately, confirming that a blood vessel in his brain had burst and was causing massive bleeding. But his condition did not improve. He slipped into a deep coma, surviving only on a ventilator and medication to maintain his blood pressure, Lin said.
When doctors assessed his chances of regaining consciousness as extremely low, his family made the decision to withdraw life support rather than let him suffer further. The hospital invited relatives and classmates to say their final goodbyes. His mother stayed at his bedside, calling his name over and over until the moment medical staff disconnected the ventilator, according to Sin Chew Daily.
Lin said the case illustrates how cerebral hemorrhage is not a risk reserved for the elderly. Overwork, chronic sleep deprivation, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and sustained psychological stress can all weaken blood vessels in the brain over time, making them prone to rupture even in young people without pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, she said, according to MustShareNews.
Deaths linked to extreme gaming sessions have been documented repeatedly in East Asia. In July 2012, an 18-year-old man surnamed Chuang was pronounced dead after playing “Diablo III” for 40 consecutive hours at an internet cafe in southern Taiwan. Police suspected prolonged sitting triggered cardiovascular problems, though the exact cause was never definitively established, according to GameSpot and The Australian.
In January 2015, a 32-year-old man surnamed Hsieh was found dead at an internet cafe in Kaohsiung’s Hunei District after a three-day gaming marathon. He was pronounced dead from cardiac failure, CNN reported, citing police spokesperson Jennifer Wu. His body had already begun to stiffen by the time staff noticed, meaning he had likely been dead for hours while other gamers continued playing around him.
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