ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601180074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
A North Cross School athlete who lost consciousness and died at wrestling practice Monday had a tumor that obstructed the blood flow through his heart.
An autopsy Wednesday disclosed that Grayson Hooper, one of the captains of the school's football team, had atrial myxoma, said Dr. David Oxley, deputy chief medical examiner for Western Virginia.
A tumor had grown out of the atrial wall in Hooper's heart and blocked the blood flow through the mitral valve, triggering cardiac arrest, Oxley said.
The medical examiner said Hooper's recent complaints to a friend about feeling ill probably were related to his heart condition.
Oxley said he has seen similar tumors in people of all ages.
Hooper, 18, was a senior who had no history of heart problems or other illnesses, but he had told a friend recently that he felt as if he had a cold or the flu.
Heart tumors often are not detected in routine physical examinations, but they sometimes are discovered in echocardiograms, Oxley said.
An echocardiogram is a test that graphically records the position, motion and interior of the heart by the echo obtained from beams of ultrasonic waves directed through the chest wall.
Oxley said the tumor in Hooper's heart was benign, but some heart tumors are cancerous.
Teammates said Hooper never complained about feeling bad or having difficulty breathing during football season. After jogging about a half-mile on Monday, he told the wrestling coach he wasn't feeling well.
The coached advised him to rest on the mats. He lost consciousness about 40 minutes later. The coach and a doctor who was working out at the school administered CPR. Hooper was taken to Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem, where he was pronounced dead.
Hooper played football for four years, baseball two years and was in his first year of wrestling.
While Hooper's athletic career at the private school in Roanoke County has gotten the most attention in news reports about his death, a friend said Wednesday that he was more than a football player.
"He could write well, and he composed music," said Taylor Jones, who had known Hooper more than a decade. "He loved life, and he enjoyed living."
Other friends also remembered Hooper for his creativity, originality and sensitivity.
Hooper was a popular student whose death has been felt throughout the school community because almost everyone knew him, school administrators said. Counselors have met with students and teachers this week to help them deal with their grief.
A memorial service will be held for Hooper at 4 p.m. Friday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB