(CNN) -- Clinging to an overturned boat for two days, Nick Schuyler kept going back to one thought: he didn't want his mother to attend his funeral, Schuyler's doctor told reporters Wednesday.

"He was in the water for about 46-47 hours," said Dr. Mark Rumbak, a pulmonary/critical care specialist at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida. "He alternated from being in the water and on top of the boat. He kept falling in."

Schuyler was plucked from the Gulf of Mexico about 40 miles west of Egmont Key, Florida, on Monday afternoon.

He and three other men, including two NFL players, embarked on a fishing trip in a 21-foot, single-engine boat from the Seminole Boat Ramp near Clearwater Pass about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said.

A search was launched for them early Sunday after they failed to return.

The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for the three other men Tuesday evening. They include NFL players Marquis Cooper, a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, Corey Smith, a free agent, and William Bleakley, a former college football player.

Family members of three boaters vowed Wednesday to keep searching even though the Coast Guard had given up.

Family members told CNN's Larry King that they were using at least three planes and 12 boats in their search.

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