Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Former Cowboys running back Ron Springs died Thursday of a heart attack. He was 54.
Springs was in a coma after going into cardiac arrest in October 2007 during an operation to have a cyst removed from an elbow.
The latter years of Springs’ life were punctuated when his former Cowboys teammate and best friend Everson Walls donated his kidney to save his life. The two started a foundation that touched the lives of many, and they even wrote a book about their journey.
“I got text from a woman who donated a kidney because of our story,” Walls said Thursday night in confirming Springs’ death. “There are a lot of people connected to this, sometimes you just don’t realize it. Ron touched a lot of people’s lives.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement: “Ron’s life will always be remembered by the joy and laughter that he brought to others and the courage and toughness he displayed until the end. Regardless of the circumstances, he always had a smile for everyone. The Dallas Cowboys have lost a wonderful member of our family, and we share our thoughts and prayers with his family.”
In 2004, Springs needed a kidney and refused to take one from his son, NFL player Shawn Springs, because it would have ended his playing career. While still on the national transplant list, Springs received one from Walls in March 2006.
Springs had suffered from diabetes for 20 years, a disease that not only caused his kidney failure but also led to the amputation of his right foot and the big and middle toes on his left foot and caused his hands to curl into knots.
He also was forced into a wheelchair and needed dialysis three times a week before receiving the transplant.
But after going in for what was expected to be routine surgery on his elbow, Springs slipped into a coma.
WRITTEN BY Calvin Watkins covers the Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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