A family has issued an urgent warning after their fit and healthy 21-year-old son died suddenly.
Jake Sendler, a 21-year-old MMA fighter and personal trainer, died within two weeks after being hospitalized after developing a dangerous muscle condition caused by high-intensity exercise.
Sendler, from Melbourne, was training to be a PE teacher, and had initially not realized he was experiencing symptoms pointing at rhabdomyolysis following an intense workout.
Rhabdomyolysis - also known as 'rhabdo' - is a condition which causes the muscles to break down and disintegrate, leading to muscle death.
The Cleveland Clinic states that when this happens, muscle fibers enter the circulation system and kidneys, causing damage that can be fatal.
It can come from overexertion, trauma, medications, or an underlying health condition.
As reported by news.com.au, Sendler was not concerned about muscle soreness as he was extremely active and training intensely for an amateur MMA fight, and had been increasing his fluids after believing he was dehydrated when noticing his urine was tea-colored.
In a video shared the day before his fight on March 2, he said he was feeling "amazing", and was known to live an extremely healthy life, eating only organic foods.
He was medically cleared to fight and lasted the full three rounds in front of 60 of his family and friends, not knowing that his organs had already begun to fail when he stepped into the ring.
Sendler was helped out of the ring, with his mother telling the outlet that he was struggling to breathe and in extreme pain.
His mother revealed that medics and coaches had initially believed he was dehydrated and had a concussion following the fight, and an ambulance was called to take him to hospital.
There, he was placed into and induced coma in intensive care and his family were told to say goodbye as medics were unsure they'd be able to save him.
Tragically, after days in an induced coma and several surgeries, Sendler died on March 13.
His mother, Sharone Sendler told the outlet: "When we got into the ICU, the doctor said when they opened him up again (in another emergency surgery) there was just too much tissue that had died and there was so much damage, there was nothing more they could do.
"I said to him, 'it’s OK baby, you can rest now, you fought so hard' and I kissed him on the forehead and he passed away. It was the worst moment of my life."
She is now working to raise awareness about the "silent killer" so that other families "never ever go through pain we felt".
Sharone added: "It can happen to anyone … had we known about the early signs, Jake could potentially still be here."
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help them in their mission to raise awareness of the dangers of rhabdo as well as to cover unexpected costs associated with Sender's death.
His mother added: "We’re going to as a family make sure his legacy lives on. We’re going to keep going with his dreams of helping athletes and inspiring youths to be great but also look after themselves because you can’t be great if you’re not here.
"If he could be here I know he’d be changing lives so we’re going to continue that for him."