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, Taekwondo 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 worked hard to improve 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 2013 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 refereeing youth and recreational basketball games.  He found a way to spend time on the basketball court.  

As parents, we made sure Devin had annual well visits and physicals.  He was always up-to-date on immunizations, he received 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 our son collapsed and died at age 22 while playing basketball with friends at the University’s fitness center.  

We were devastated and confused as our world 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 conditions. We now know symptoms of SCA are sometimes overlooked or attributed to other causes. 

We also now realize our son’s heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM),  might 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, a grandson or friend due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest.