A 13-year-old middle school football player in North Carolina has died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest during practice, school officials have confirmed.
Caden Sorrell, an eighth grader at Northwest Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, collapsed during a practice session before being rushed to nearby Cone Hospital.
Medical staff placed the youngster on a heart pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to take over his failing heart and lung functions, but his family revealed the damage was ‘too severe, and they were unable to save his life.’
Sorrell tragically passed away on Sunday, August 30.
‘Today, our Northwest Middle School family is grieving the loss of one of our students,’ school principal CeCe Matson wrote in a heartfelt statement.
‘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.’
Caden Sorrell, an eighth grader at Northwest Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, collapsed during a practice session before being rushed to nearby Cone Hospital
The 13-year-old middle school football player tragically passed away on Sunday, August 30
While an official cause of death has not been released, doctors believe an underlying genetic condition may have triggered the sudden cardiac arrest, prompting his four siblings – including a twin brother – to undergo medical screening.
‘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,’ a family statement on GoFundMe read.
In the wake of the tragedy, the school’s Parent Teacher Student Organization set up an outdoor campus memorial for classmates and staff to leave flowers and tributes.
‘There are no right words for a loss like this,’ the PTSO shared. ‘We simply want our community to know that this space is there for anyone who wishes to honor and remember a very special member of our Viking family.’
The middle school’s football team has scheduled a vigil on Wednesday, September 2, to honor the young player’s memory.
