A North Carolina community is heartbroken after a 13-year-old boy died following a sudden medical emergency during football practice.
Caden Sorrell, a student at Northwest Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, died Sunday, Aug. 30, after suffering what his family described as a sudden cardiac arrest while practicing with his football team.
School officials announced the devastating loss later that day.
“Today, our Northwest Middle School family is grieving the loss of one of our students,” principal CeCe Matson wrote in a Facebook post. “There are no easy words to make sense of losing a child, and our hearts are with the family, friends, classmates, and all who loved him.”
According to a GoFundMe organized for the Sorrell family, Caden was rushed to nearby Cone Hospital after the medical emergency.
Doctors used several aggressive life-saving measures, including a heart pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, which temporarily takes over the work of the heart and lungs when they are failing.
Despite doctors’ efforts, Caden’s family said the damage was too severe and he could not be saved.
The family said doctors believe an underlying genetic condition may have contributed to his death, although an official cause of death has not been publicly released.
Caden leaves behind a twin brother and three other siblings.
His family said all four siblings are expected to undergo testing for the possible genetic condition.
“Making this even more heartbreaking, Caden leaves behind a twin brother, as well as three additional siblings who are now facing grief no family should ever have to endure,” the family wrote.
The tragedy has shaken the Northwest Guilford Middle School community.
The school’s Parent Teacher Student Organization announced that a memorial has been created outside the campus, where classmates, teachers and community members can leave flowers, notes and other tributes to Caden.
“There are no right words for a loss like this,” the organization wrote.
The group said the memorial is meant to give the community a place to honor and remember “a very special member of our Viking family.”
Principal Matson also urged students and families to support one another in the days ahead.
“As we grieve this loss, let us lean on one another and extend compassion to those around us,” she wrote. “A caring heart and gentle presence can mean so much right now.”
Caden’s football team is expected to hold a vigil in his memory on Wednesday, Sept. 2.