by Bob Gillespie/TheState.com #NFL
Daryl Perry always will wonder what might have happened if he had not decided to drop in on his brother, William, that afternoon in early April.
The two men live perhaps nine miles apart in their hometown of Aiken. In fact, most of the 10 surviving Perry siblings — Freddie and Vivian died in recent years — live near one another and their widowed 82-year-old father, Hollie.
It is a close family, emotionally as well as in physical proximity. But its members also believe in giving one another their space. Still, Daryl knew that Perry — aka “The Fridge,” the larger-than-life former football player who 25 years ago starred at Clemson and then with the Chicago Bears — had not been feeling well.
In June 2008, Perry was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a chronic inflammation of the peripheral nerves that causes muscle weakness and even paralysis. He was hospitalized for five months, and the condition still sometimes was taking its toll on him.
“We’d all go out and check on him,” Daryl said of Perry, 46. “It was just a drop-by to visit. I didn’t expect what I found.”
Daryl discovered Perry lying in bed, dehydrated and weak. “I was talking to him, but he seemed so out of it, he wasn’t responding,” he said. “He had a dazed look on his face.
“We decided then to call the paramedics.” READ MORE
