Post by Angel on Dec 6, 2010 22:18:09 GMT -5
MADISON COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - Family members laid 16-year-old Zach Wise to rest Friday morning. The teen was a sophomore at Pendleton Heights High School. He loved wrestling and had won three national championships.
"I remember him with the biggest smile on his face. We'd always joke around. He had the biggest heart for anybody" said Ashleigh Wise, Zach's sister.
Wise died Tuesday night in his bedroom. He strangled himself. The Madison County coroner ruled the death a suicide. However, Zach's parents are convinced their son died playing a game they had never heard of; a game called the choking game.
"We got on line looking and started looking and they call it called the asphyxiation game, the choking game, they even call it the good kid game.
Stories started coming from kids of how they heard him talking about it and heard other kids talking about it" said Zach's father, Chris Wise.
The choking game deprives the brain of oxygen. Kids do it to one another or they can do it to themselves. It causes participants to first pass out. Then they experience a surge of blood into the brain which creates a perceived high.
According to the CDC there were 82 probable choking-game deaths from 1995-2007. But advocacy groups claim since the deaths are reported as strangulations, the actual number is much higher. One group estimates as many as 1000 boys and girls between 9-16 die from the choking game each year.
"Zach was very very athletic, very strong, very agile and if he can't beat the game, there are very few that can" said Julie Wise
Experts say the choking game has side effects that are warning signs for parents.
They include marks on the neck, bloodshot eyes, and headaches. A child who participates in the stunt may also seem disoriented.
Julie Wise says when it comes to her son, the warning signs were there. The Wises didn't know it because they had never heard of the choking game.
"With him being a wrestler we didn't think about it. He would have bruising on his neck. He'd been having a lot more headaches. The bloodshot eyes I just counted up to the fact that he was so on the go" said Julie Wise
With Zach gone, the Wises want to alert parents to the dangers of the game.
"If it can happen to Zach Wise, it can happen to anyone" said Julie.
The Wises hope Zach's story will encourage other parents to talk to their children about the dangers of playing the choking game.
St. Vincent Stress Center Mental Health Counselor Kimble Richardson says different forms of the choking game have been around for a long time and it's up to parents to educate their children about the dangers of the game.
www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/dangerous-game-kills-hoosier-teen
"I remember him with the biggest smile on his face. We'd always joke around. He had the biggest heart for anybody" said Ashleigh Wise, Zach's sister.
Wise died Tuesday night in his bedroom. He strangled himself. The Madison County coroner ruled the death a suicide. However, Zach's parents are convinced their son died playing a game they had never heard of; a game called the choking game.
"We got on line looking and started looking and they call it called the asphyxiation game, the choking game, they even call it the good kid game.
Stories started coming from kids of how they heard him talking about it and heard other kids talking about it" said Zach's father, Chris Wise.
The choking game deprives the brain of oxygen. Kids do it to one another or they can do it to themselves. It causes participants to first pass out. Then they experience a surge of blood into the brain which creates a perceived high.
According to the CDC there were 82 probable choking-game deaths from 1995-2007. But advocacy groups claim since the deaths are reported as strangulations, the actual number is much higher. One group estimates as many as 1000 boys and girls between 9-16 die from the choking game each year.
"Zach was very very athletic, very strong, very agile and if he can't beat the game, there are very few that can" said Julie Wise
Experts say the choking game has side effects that are warning signs for parents.
They include marks on the neck, bloodshot eyes, and headaches. A child who participates in the stunt may also seem disoriented.
Julie Wise says when it comes to her son, the warning signs were there. The Wises didn't know it because they had never heard of the choking game.
"With him being a wrestler we didn't think about it. He would have bruising on his neck. He'd been having a lot more headaches. The bloodshot eyes I just counted up to the fact that he was so on the go" said Julie Wise
With Zach gone, the Wises want to alert parents to the dangers of the game.
"If it can happen to Zach Wise, it can happen to anyone" said Julie.
The Wises hope Zach's story will encourage other parents to talk to their children about the dangers of playing the choking game.
St. Vincent Stress Center Mental Health Counselor Kimble Richardson says different forms of the choking game have been around for a long time and it's up to parents to educate their children about the dangers of the game.
www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/dangerous-game-kills-hoosier-teen