His Mind Wasn’t on His Work : Gill Byrd: Chargers cornerback takes responsibility for letdowns that led to two Bengal touchdowns Sunday. But his thoughts were with his 6-year-old son, Gill Jr., who is battling a mysterious illness.

There were no excuses, not the slightest hesitation.

Gill Byrd was to blame for letting Cincinnati score two of its three touchdowns in a 21-16 win Sunday, and Gill Byrd said so.

It’s what the Charger cornerback did not say, however, that explains so much.

Since Friday a very sick 6-year-old Gill, Jr., has been in Children’s Hospital undergoing tests and confounding physicians as to just what might be wrong.

Byrd’s son continues to be treated for a temperature that has topped out at 105 degrees. He’s also suffering from a rash and pain in his joints that does not always allow him to walk.

“It’s frustrating. We don’t know what’s going on,” Byrd said. “The doctors are dumbfounded. They said he might be able to come home now, but then they still have no idea what’s wrong.

“We hear all sorts of possibilities. We heard about Lyme disease, and so they tested him for Lyme disease Sunday. But no one knows, and the worst always runs through your mind. What if it’s life-threatening?”

There is character, however, at work here. Gill, Jr., the older of Byrd’s two sons, was delivered prematurely, weighing 1 pound 15 ounces at birth. For the first three months of his life, the hospital remained his home.

“He’s definitely a miracle,” Byrd said. “The Lord spared him back in 1984, and the time we have with him is so special. But he’s been through so much, and every time he hurts, we hurt.

“He’s a little champ, and he’s endured all the poking they are doing. As the days go on they think of more tests and want more blood,” he said. “His eyes tear up when they come with the needles, but he’s done everything they have asked.”

Although distracted by his son’s illness, Byrd has been going about the business of doing everything the coaches have asked.

But Sunday it was not enough. In the second quarter, his concern as a parent took his mind elsewhere, and so James Brooks was left all alone in the end zone to catch a 10-yard touchdown pass from Boomer Esiason.

A few minutes later, he was a step short in keeping Eddie Brown from making a 30-yard touchdown reception.

“I hadn’t played that badly since high school,” Byrd said. “And I don’t think I played that badly in high school.

“At halftime Coach (Ron) Lynn told me I wasn’t in it, and what’s going on? I said my mind was at the hospital, and I wasn’t concentrating.

“He said, ‘Do you just want to sit out the second half?’ I said, ‘Maybe that would be a good idea.’ But he said, ‘No, go in and play the first series and see how things go.’ ”

In the second half, Byrd picked off an errant Esiason pass, and as a result, became the team’s second all-time leader in career interceptions with 26. The shining moment, though, was lost on Byrd.

“I was directly responsible for all 14 points in the first half,” Byrd told reporters after the game. “I feel like I let everybody down today.”

No mention of the burden he was carrying. No hiding.

“I was there for the team and hoping I could do something good,” Byrd said. “I didn’t mention my son because the people who pay to come to the game pay to see a professional do a job in a professional manner. They aren’t interested in excuses.”

But those who know, knew better.

“Obviously he was distracted by his son’s situation,” said Lynn, the team’s defensive coordinator. “He wouldn’t use it as an excuse because he’s a pro. But there were a number of things he did, or didn’t do, that wouldn’t happen again in 100 years.”

Caught between the hospital and the playing field, Byrd tried to make the most of it. He was voted the team’s most inspirational player in each of the last two seasons by teammates, and he was there for them Sunday.

“He’s amazing; he didn’t want to let anybody down,” secondary coach Jim Mora said. “I wouldn’t have blamed him if he didn’t even play in the game. He had kept it all to himself. I didn’t even know about little Gill being so sick until a half hour before Sunday’s game.”

They didn’t know that little Gill had first become ill the Wednesday before the regular-season opener in Dallas, but maybe they should have guessed something was wrong when Byrd was beaten by the Cowboys’ Dennis McKinnon for a 28-yard touchdown.

“The touchdown in Dallas, and the passes against Cincinnati--he makes those plays and they are interceptions if he’s focused,” Mora said. “But he’s not human if he’s not distracted.”

Before Gill Jr. was admitted to the hospital for observation on Friday, mother and father were up nightly administering cold baths to reduce his temperature.

“I’d be so tired after practice and I couldn’t always get up in the middle of the night,” Byrd said. “My wife’s exhausted, and I feel so sorry for her because I can’t do anything.

“It’s a fine line I’m walking. I want to stay rested and alert to practice and play effectively, and by the same token I’ve got to take some time off for my wife so she doesn’t have the whole burden.

“We have two boys. One’s sick and the other (Jairus, 3) wakes up full of energy and ready to go every day.”

Byrd was on the telephone with Gill Jr. after Monday’s practice at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, and he was on his way to the hospital after examining videotape of Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati.

If the youngster remains in the hospital today, then Byrd will spend his off-day at his side.

“I know everything that happens in my life, happens for a reason,” Byrd said. “I’m a Christian, and I know nothing happens in my life until it’s first filtered through God’s hands.”

Byrd will return to work Wednesday to prepare for Sunday’s game in Cleveland. And while strong in faith, he said he understands the task ahead.

“I’m a lot better now; the hospitalization just brought everything to a zenith this weekend,” he said. “But I want to stand and be accountable to my teammates. I know I’ve got to play better, and overcome this.”

Those close to him think he can.

“Gill is such a good family man, you have to know how much this has affected him,” Mora said. “But if there’s anyone I trust to pull themselves out of something like this, it’s Gill. It’s the type of person he is, the type of faith he has, and I’m sure it’s all going to work out.”