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A 13-year-old North Carolina football player has died days after he went into cardiac arrest during practice.
Caden Sorrell, an eighth-grade student at Northwest Guilford Middle School in Greensboro, began football practice Friday by running a lap around the field, his older sister, Vanessa Clark, told WXII. The teen, who wore No. 42, then went into cardiac arrest.
Clark said she was at Walmart when she received a call from their mother telling her what had happened.
“I immediately rushed to him,” Clark told the outlet. “He was a picture of health. We don’t know why [it happened], but it did.”
Caden was taken to Cone Health Hospital, where doctors worked to save his life. He underwent intensive treatment, including a heart pump and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, which can temporarily provide support for the heart and lungs.
Despite those efforts, the damage was too severe, and Caden died Sunday.
His sudden death has left his family struggling to make sense of what happened. Doctors have suggested that an undetected genetic condition could have played a role. His family is now pursuing genetic testing for Caden’s twin brother, as well as his three additional siblings, according to a GoFundMe page created to help with the family’s medical expenses.
No underlying cause has been publicly confirmed.
Caden is remembered as a devoted Pittsburgh Steelers fan and, according to Clark, someone who had a way of making people around him feel special.
“Caden was an angel from heaven. He was brilliant, sweet, smart, kind,” she said. “He made everybody around him feel loved.”
Clark said one of her favorite memories with Caden was a playful wrestling match in which she thought she could beat him, until he proved her wrong.
“We were trying to wrestle because I thought I could take him, and I couldn’t,” Clark recalled. “He taught me the hard way that I could not, but it was just the laughter that we shared together.”
Caden’s death has also reverberated through Northwest Guilford Middle School, where students and staff have been mourning the loss of their classmate and teammate.
“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. Principal CeCe Matson said in a statement Tuesday.
“We ask that you continue to keep this family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. As we grieve this loss, let us lean on one another and extend compassion to those around us. A caring heart and gentle presence can mean so much right now,” she added.
A memorial has been set up by the school spirit rock, and a vigil is scheduled for Wednesday evening in Caden’s honor.
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