Such a tragic shame.
Hull parents' heartache on Victoria Derbyshire show after man, 24, dies playing football
Former City defender Dan Wilkinson was just 24 when he died from an undiagnosed heart condition
The parents of a former
Hull City player who died after collapsing on the pitch have spoke of their loss on the Victoria Derbyshire Show.
Dan Wilkinson, who grew up in
Hedon, was just 24 when he died in 2016 from an undiagnosed heart condition. Paramedics were called after he
collapsed while playing football for Shaw Lane AFC during a cup match near Halifax.
Tests revealed Dan had
arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) - a condition which may be present in one in every 1,000 to 5,000 young adults and causes the walls of the heart to weaken, which could cause a cardiac arrest.
On Tuesday morning, Dan's parents Barry and Gill Wilkinson, who were at home on the night of the tragedy, revealed how much they still miss him two years after his death on
BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show.
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Dan and his family (Image: BBC)
"When Dan walked in to a room, he gave the room a lift - he'd started work, he'd got his degree, he'd got the girl, got the car, got the flat - everything", said Mr Wilkinson, speaking to presenter William Unjovu from the show. "On the day he died, Dan had been doing what he loved the most - playing football.
"I got a call from one of his team mates who said Dan had collapsed and would we be able to get there?
"He had a serious, serious heart issue but there was nothing to tell him or us that there was something wrong."
Tragically, Dan never regained consciousness and his loving parents never had a chance to say goodbye.
Pictures of Dan Wilkinson and his family from the Victoria Derbyshire show
Mrs Wilkinson, 56, said: "When we arrived there were some consultants and nurses there that took us in to a room and at that point we knew it wasn't good - we just sat down and the consultant said 'I'm sorry' and that was it really."
The couple said they were in a state of "disbelief" and "shock" as their son had shown no illness prior to his death. "Twenty-four hours before he died, we'd FaceTimed and he was his usual self - what we didn't know is that he had a serious, serious heart condition and there was nothing to tell us or him that there was anything wrong", said Mr Wilkinson, a retired accountant.
"He went out, he played the first half, had a break, and then 10 minutes in to the second half, that was it."
At 10.12pm on September 12, 2016 - an hour after his collapse and before his parents had reached the hospital - Dan died.
Watch: What to do if someone has a heart attack
What to do if someone is having a heart attack
More than 83,000 young people aged between 15 and 25 are living with undiagnosed heart conditions in the UK according to British Heart Foundation and around 1,500 young people die suddenly every year from undiagnosed heart problems.
The Victoria Derbyshire Show wanted to raise awareness that these conditions could flare up at any time and that many people will find out about their illness too late.
As well as speaking to Dan's parents, they also interviewed Professor Elijah Behr, a leading heart doctor looking into what causes unexpected cardiac deaths in young people to try and prevent deaths.
During the programme, they also speak to Lora D'Alesio, who at the age of 24 also had heart problem that nearly killed her - she went in to a coma for three days and woke up crying and confused after her heart stopped working for five minutes.
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Dan Wilkinson playing for Hull City reserves
Since Dan's untimely death, the family have set up the
Daniel Wilkinson Foundation, a registered charity that seeks to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death in the young.
It also provides funding towards heart screening, defibrillators and training, primarily for grassroots sports teams.
Speaking
around the first anniversary of Dan's death, Mr Wilkinson, 63, said: "Dan was a real joker - I used to say to him, playfully, 'will you ever grow up?' The cruel irony is that he never got to grow up.
"Twenty-four was as far as Dan got.
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GONE TOO SOON: Dan Wilkinson died after collapsing on the pitch during a non-league match
"We can't believe this has happened to someone so young, so full of life."
Mrs Wilkinson said: "Dan is my son, I needed to know he didn't suffer.
"I've spent a lot of time over the past year researching, trying to find out if he suffered or if it was instantaneous."
"People have told us that Dan would be looking down on us telling us, 'Everything is going to be OK'.
"He wouldn't be saying that. Dan loved life too much."