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Dumont Student Athlete Who Suddenly Died, 14, Had Undetected Heart Condition, Dad Says

The sudden death of a 14-year-old Dumont boy who collapsed while playing basketball was brought on by an undetected heart condition that is the second-leading killer of student-athletes nationwide, his father said.

Aaron had dreams of the major leagues.

Aaron had dreams of the major leagues.

Photo Credit: @AaronSVasquez4

The shocking death of Aaron Vasquez on Nov. 20, 2021 had nothing whatsoever to do with COVID or a vaccine, he added, despite what some cruel strangers posted on social media.

Medical examiners who conducted an autopsy concluded that his boy had “an exceptionally strong heart and healthy coronary arteries,” Kevin Vasquez wrote in a GoFundMe update this week.

However, “one of these was in a place that, left surgically uncorrected, could result in death,” the grieving dad added.

The loss was almost impossible for Vasquez’s devastated family to withstand. On top of that, the same social media platforms that brought the family loving expressions of sympathy – as well as contributions toward the costs of Aaron’s funeral -- also bore heartlessness that itself was impossible to fathom.

Aaron “was neither under the effects of the coronavirus nor of any vaccine against the coronavirus,” Kevin Vasquez wrote. “The pandemic played no role in his death, whatever side of the matter you stand upon.

“We publicly forgive every slanderous speculation that came from both sides of this public debate,” he added, “and hope that those that volunteered their opinions would understand how hurtful it was to hear them applied to this, our misery, without qualification.”

Aaron, who hoped to someday become a major league baseball player or coach, had finished practicing with his recreational league team when he decided to stick around Grant Elementary School to play ball with his younger brother.

A short time later he collapsed.

A coach who's a hospital medic immediately began CPR. Members of the Dumont Volunteer Ambulance Corps took Aaron to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Aaron was “wonderfully-made and designed perfectly by his Heavenly Father,” Kevin Vasquez wrote in an April 14 update.

His death “was brought on by cardiac arrhythmia as a result of a previously-undetected anomalous coronary artery,” Vasquez added.

The grieving father urged others to get heart screenings for their children. "A brief convenience may prevent a lifetime of grief," he emphasized.

“To our beloved family, friends and neighbors: Thank you for your overwhelming & persistent demonstration of love, support, and solidarity with our family during this difficult time,” he wrote. “While our aim is to speak more clearly on Aaron’s life & death in the coming months, in addition to our vision for preserving and expanding his legacy of love, we are still deeply grieving and you will understand our continued silence.

“We are leaning on the grace of Christ and his assurance of the resurrection.”

DONATE HERE: Vasquez Family (GoFundMe)

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