Stories: Forever in our Hearts

David Leslie Finlayson was born March 20, 1988 in Ventura, California and died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest while on a five-mile training run in Hawaii on November 7, 2013. He was 25. We still don’t know exactly what caused his heart to stop. David had never had an ECG that might have revealed some kind of electrical disorder, and his heart, though large because he was a very fit Marine, was found to be normal in autopsy. We have started a nonprofit, The Lion Heart Heroes Foundation, to promo... see more

Dwayne was the beacon of light in our family. He was ambitious yet well-grounded; at a young age, he already had clear plans on how he would build his own business and ultimately give back to the community through charity. He grew up in Hong Kong and later moved to New York, where he graduated from New York University. Along the way, Dwayne developed many varied interests such as photography, sailing, skiing and scuba diving. A keen traveler, Dwayne spent time in many different cit... see more

Elijah was the eldest of our three children, and our only son. He was an athletic boy, running around with some sort of ball in his hand for as long as he could hold one. Elijah was a fun loving joker with the most laid back temperament. He played basketball, baseball and football beginning at age four. When in third grade during P.E. Elijah fainted while running laps. He was taken to the emergency room for evaluation, and was cleared of having any problems. The doctors concluded that he collap... see more

Elizabeth Ann Van Kleek passed away December 7, 2014, just weeks after her 19th birthday. Originally from Hillsboro, Oregon, she was a Freshman at the University of Nevada-Reno, a school that had immediately felt like home when she had visited it while she was in high school. In her first semester of college she gained many sisters in becoming a member of the Eta Iota chapter of Delta Gamma, and shared her humor, kindness, and motherly instincts with all of her new friends. She had been diagnose... see more

Each year an estimated 325,000 people die in the United States from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Of that number the Heart Rhythm Society estimates about 14,000 of these deaths are in children and infants. On August 30th, 1997, my healthy 22-year-old daughter Emilie died suddenly, in her sleep, from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. We immediately began to ask ourselves, how a beautiful and seemingly healthy young woman could possibly just go to bed and die in such a mysterious manner. To say we we... see more

Franklin "Frank" W. Keitch, age 63, of Pickerington, passed away Saturday, February 20, 2010, at Mt. Carmel East Medical Center from complications of Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. He was born February 9, 1947, in Sistersville, WV. ... see more

In the fall of 1992, in the sleepy coastal town of Beaufort, SC, Graham Solana went to the pediatrician for a 6-month ultrasound on the baby boy growing inside of her. The tech picked up on something she didn’t like…a heart rate that was jumping around from 140 beats per minute to 200. It would skip from 140 to 180, then drop back to 150, then jump up again. The doctor got involved, and it was decided that he would do something unusual when the baby was to be born in 3 months…hook him up for an ... see more

Our beautiful son Ian was 7 years old when he passed away on March 6, 2016 from Long QT Syndrome. We were completely unaware that he had this condition, as he had never exhibited any symptoms. On February 12, 2016, Ian went into cardiac arrest in our home. 911 was called and he was taken to the hospital. It was there, through an EKG, that they discovered he had Long QT. Ian had been taking Zithromax for presumed bronchitis, which was, unbeknownst to us, exacerbating this heart rhythm condition. ... see more

Jacob Eisner was a creative, magical child who filled our lives with his over-sized personality. He was small for his age but big in spirit. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of ten on May 10, 1996. We did not know of any preexisting heart condition. The cause of death was stated as "probable arrhythmia." Since that truly awful day, we have tried to learn more about the possible conditions that could cause his heart to simply blink off. SADS has been a helpful resource. ... see more

hi there just wanted to share my story my son jake was a lovely kind beautiful boy jake had aspergers syndrome and often complained of silly aliments which i thought nothing of but knowing what i know now i may have investigated this more . sadly 3 months ago jake collapsed and died playing his x box ,jake was at his nans at the time jake woke the wed morning , had breakfast and seemed fine ,he said just gonna play the x box before we go out, his nana was to call him 30 mins later ,,... see more

On April 13, 2009, my life and the lives of my family members were forever changed when my cousin died suddenly of a cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 28. Jamie was the highlight of our lives, filling each day with laughter and smiles. When you were down, he was always there to uplift you in any way that he could. ... see more

This is a story of how, in the blink of an eye, your whole life can change forever. ... see more