Parents warn against 'fainting game' craze after son ends up in coma Mr Thomas, 47, said: "I picked him up and he had no blue in his eyes, they were all black. There was nothing I could do to help him. I'm a trained firefighter and have seen all sorts of things but my first aid training couldn't help. He didn't know who I was, he couldn't talk, couldn't walk. We went to the doctors' and they called an ambulance. They needed to know more about what happened as they were really worried. He was rushed to hospital where doctors feared he would suffer brain damage and put Sam in medically-induced coma while they ran further tests. Mrs Thomas, 43, prayed he had not suffered any permanent damage. She said: "He needed neurological rest but they couldn't assure us he was going to be OK. We didn't know if he was going to wake up knowing us. The next day they came to wake him but he took a while to come round and he didn't talk for a while. Sam was in the coma for 36 hours and has since recovered - but his family warned against children trying the prank. We had never heard of this thumb-blowing craze before, that's also what was really worrying. We were in disbelief that this could be so dangerous," Mrs Thomas said. It's caused death before and many more children have suffered brain damage. Children at that age don't understand things like this, there's no fear or danger. It's really important children understand the risks and we'd encourage parents to talk to their children about this. Sam is slowly recovering but has had to cut down on sports and swimming and find himself getting tired quickly. His school Newquay Tretherras Academy said it has since warned children not to try the dangerous stunt.