Our beloved Devin was outgoing, smart, athletic and active from a very young age.  He was the kid who kept us busy from T-Ball to baseball, flag football to tackle football, Tae Kwon Do lessons and  basketball.  He seemed to want to do it all!

By Middle School it was clear that basketball was his favorite sport.  He played year-round and was dedicated to improving his game.  We traveled in state and across the country for camps and tournaments.  As parents we had a lot of fun supporting him.  

Devin graduated from Beachwood High School in 20013 and went on to attend Kent State University where he majored in Broadcast Journalism.  Although he didn’t play basketball at the collegiate level, he found a way to remain close to the sport.  He became a certified officiator through the Ohio Athletic Association and refereed youth and recreational basketball games.  He still found a way to spend time on the basketball court.  

As parents, we made sure Devin has annual well visits and sports physicals.  He was always current on immunizations, he got the flu shot every year and physical fitness was a part of his daily routine.  Devin always had access to health care and the best doctors so we thought we had all the bases covered.  None of these things mattered the day my son collapsed and died at the age of 22 while playing basketball with friends at the University’s fitness center.  

We were devastated and confused as our work completely fell apart.  We didn’t understand how a life threatening heart condition went undetected in our child.  How could a seemingly healthy young man die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)?  

• We now know routine physicals and health screenings don’t always detect heart abnormalities.
• We now know symptoms of SCA are sometimes overlooked or attributed to other causes. 
• We now know our son’s heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) may have been diagnosed if he would have had an Electrocardiogram (EKG) or an ultrasound of his heart.  

Knowing an affordable test or procedure may have saved Devin’s life is tough to think about each day.  Unfortunately, before Devin died we had no awareness of the importance of screening for heart conditions in youth.  We can’t change what happened to Devin, but we hope his story prevents others from experiencing the traumatic loss of a child, a brother or grandson or friend.