A Texas teen tragically died after being found unresponsive at cheer camp.
Katy resident Callie Marie Mitchell, 16, was at Texas A&M University last month when she experienced an unexpected medical emergency, prompting one of her camp coaches to perform CPR on her, local media outlet KHOU reported.
Callie headed to cheer camp “super excited” on July 24, but her mother, Michelle Donahue, told KHOU that after she arrived, she and Callie’s father, Scott Donahue, received a concerning phone call from one of her coaches.
“She said, ‘Hey, does Callie have a problem waking up in the morning?’ And I said, ‘No, never,’” Michelle Donahue recalled to the outlet.
After speaking on the phone with her coach, Callie’s parents drove to the university, where they were told that the same coach had administered CPR to their daughter after finding her unresponsive.
Callie was airlifted to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. She died a week later on Aug. 1, the outlet reported.
Scott Donahue told KHOU that Callie may have died as a result of “a cardiac arrest that was caused by Long QT syndrome.”
Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a type of conduction disorder that affects the electrical system that controls your heartbeat, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Symptoms of LQTS often start during childhood, and may cause symptoms such as fainting, noisy gasping while sleeping and seizures.
Callie’s parents are now thanking the coach for keeping her alive long enough for them to say goodbye to their daughter, whom Michelle Donahue said “was like sunshine.”
“If it wasn’t for [Coach] Eberly, we would have never had the chance to say goodbye,” said Michelle Donahue of her daughter, who first started cheering at age 2.
“[She] always wanted to be a friend to anyone and everyone,” Callie’s father added.
Callie’s parents are urging other parents to have their children undergo an electrocardiogram (EKG) to check their hearts.
“For any other parents out there, you know they do physicals every year...EKGs are not part of a physical...get an EKG,” Scott said.