EPTOn Tuesday morning, Doug Perez, a good friend of mine, was found dead in his on-campus apartment room at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Doug was a major part of the on campus gaming community. He served as the president of the League of Legends club, and was the captain of our CSL team. Managing to work his way up from Silver 3 to Platinum 3 during the course of Season 4, he was a avid LoL player and a major supporter of Team Curse, which has now become Team Liquid.
As a person, Doug was pretty much like any other semi-serious troll you hit in day to day solo queue. He loved the game and took it very seriously, but he definitely was not above a little smack talk and trying to get a rise out of someone. He wasn't mean or malicious, more like the guy who will inevitably lead the conversation towards everyone rolling their eyes and saying "Dammit Doug!" As the president of a gaming club, he was well loved by everyone, and had an impact on several people's lives by simply being there for them, playing a few games of league, and shooting the shit.
Doug was only 21-years-old, far too young to die. He was a senior Biology major and planned on graduating this year. I think I can speak on behalf of all of his friends and club members that the hardest part about this entire situation is the fact that no one knows what happened. For me personally, it still doesn't seem real. I last played league with him about a week ago, and we played Magic TCG all day this past Saturday at our local game shop's draft-a-thon. On Tuesday he died, and I have no idea how or why. His funeral service is set for this Saturday, January 31st, and I believe his fmily already had an autopsy done, which they will likely release as soon as they are ready.
I've a consistent member of the Team Liquid community for the past six years or so and have never asked anything, but in this situation it would be awesome if someone could pass this on to the LoL team manager, jokasteve. TL, was Doug's favorite team, and I think it would be amazing if TL paid some sort of tribute to their fan this weekend in the LCS, even if it's something as small as having his summoner name (Kellric) pasted somewhere on the Team's uniform.
This has been an incredibly difficult blog post for me, so I'm not sure where I should take it from here or how to end. I guess all that is left to say is RIP Doug, and try not to troll Jesus too hard.
EDIT: We found out late Thursday night that the cause of death was dehydration from the flu and vomitting/diahrrea. The coroner said that there was no urine in Doug's bladder, and no food in his stomach. This hit me kinda hard because I had a very similar experience a few years ago, where I had the flu and bronchitis at the same time and couldn't even stomach water. All I wanted to do was sleep, and that's all I did. I slept it out, and when the my fever broke went to the doctor. They told me that I was severely dehydrated, despite the fact that I had been drinking like crazy for about a day since my fever broke. I was rushed to the hospital and set up on an IV, and stayed there for almost a day. The point is, I'm sure Doug experienced the exact same thing I did, but for whatever reason, I'm here and he's not.
I guess as a PSA for everyone reading this: There is a strain of the flu that had already killed 14 people in this county (New Hanover, North Carolina) alone. Doug was the first "healthy-aged" person to lose his life, bringing the total up to 15. If you know of anyone who is sick with the flu, be sure that they are getting enough fluids, even if you have to go so far and forcing them to drink by literally shoving it down their throat. If any of us had done this, Doug would still be alive.
Once again, thanks for all the kind words. I am forever grateful that there is such a kind-hearted community here that I can turn to, vent my feelings in writing, and actually have people willing to read and respond.
