(U-WIRE) SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — “No, Mom, don’t come up. I’ll be fine.” Those were some of the last words California Poly State University computer science freshman Jason Hawkins told his mother, Jackie, before he died Thursday at Sierra Vista Hospital. He was 18.

Hawkins became ill Jan. 17 with what he thought was the flu, experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, Jackie said.

“He never got sick,” she said. “I don’t think he knew how sick he was.”

Hawkins slipped into a coma sometime between Jan. 19 and last Monday. His roommate, who had been away for the weekend, discovered Hawkins unconscious in their Tenaya Hall residence at about 5:30 Monday evening.

Doctors said they thought Hawkins had some kind of infection that put him into a diabetic coma in which his body shut down. His blood-sugar level reached as high as 2,250 milligrams per deciliter. Sierra Vista doctors had never seen anything that high before, Jackie said.

A normal blood-sugar level for a non-diabetic person is less than 105 when an individual hasn’t eaten for a number of hours and less than 120 two hours after a meal, according to the website www.familydoctor.org/handouts/075.

The high blood-sugar level caused Hawkins to suffer brain damage, although doctors were unsure if it would have been permanent.

“I know [the high blood-sugar level] led to everything, but I don’t know what caused it,” said physics sophomore Aryn Hernandez, a close friend to Hawkins for eight years.

Doctors won’t know for sure if diabetes or an infection caused the abnormally high blood sugar until Tuesday’s autopsy results are analyzed. Hawkins, who had no history of medical problems, had a complete physical examination last June that showed no sign of diabetes, said his father, Steve, in an e-mail.

Hawkins never awoke from his coma, but doctors were optimistic he’d survive when he responded to medication Wednesday and his body began to restart itself.

“We were all kind of hopeful on Wednesday,” Hernandez said. “Thursday I don’t know what happened; it just collapsed. It was just it.”

Hawkins grew up in San Dimas, Calif. After visiting the campus last spring, Hawkins knew that Cal Poly was the place for him, his father said, and did not bother applying anywhere else, despite his parents urging him otherwise.

He began attending Cal Poly during last summer’s Jump-Start program and worked as a host at Vista Grande Restaurant.

To some, Hawkins was independent and quiet, but those close to him saw a more social side.

“He was a pretty laid-back, easygoing guy, but he liked to have fun,” Hernandez said. “He was someone you could talk to if you needed to.”

“He was a fun-loving guy,” Hernandez later said. “He was pretty social. He liked to laugh. He was fun to be around. He’s a good friend of mine.”

One of Hawkins’ passions in life was music. He enjoyed listening to all kinds of music, as well as playing it. He started playing the saxophone while in middle school and played in the San Dimas High School band throughout his tenure there.

Though he wasn’t involved in an organized band on campus, Hawkins occasionally found time to play the instrument.

“If somebody said, ‘Let’s go play something,’ he would have been ready,” Hernandez said.

Hawkins also took great enjoyment in laughter.

“He had a really interesting sense of humor,” Jackie said.

His “quirky” sense of humor showed in his admiration for “Monty Python” movies and the music of Weird Al Yankovic.