A high school sophomore has died after collapsing last week during a physical education class.
Edly Pierre-Louis, a 10th-grader at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, collapsed on the basketball court during a game last Wednesday.
A teacher performed CPR and paramedics rushed him to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, but after 5 days in critical condition, Pierre-Louis died on Sunday.
"There's a tremendous sense of loss," said Principal Dawn Baglos. "The school's grieving as a family."
Doctors said Pierre-Louis died due to an undetected congenital heart disorder.
Physical exams to screen for these types of heart disorders are not required to take part in PE class like they are for high school sports. Miami-Dade School Board member Martin Karp said fatal heart attacks are so rare among students, that it's not realistic to make every student undergo a physical exam just to participate in PE.
Pierre-Louis' web page shows he was an active teenager who loved to play basketball and football. He said on his web page that he wanted to become a doctor.
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"[He was a] wonderful individual who was doing all the kinds of things you'd want a young adolescent to do in order to be successful, and that take, that vibe is permeating our school right now," Baglos said.
Now students are organizing activities to commemorate their friend's life.
"He was a boy who always strived for success academically," said fellow student government member Luc Pierre-Louis, who is unrelated. "We're grieving his passing but also celebrating his life as a student."
Grief counselors were taken to the school to help students and faculty, some of whom witnessed Pierre-Louis collapsing on the court. Meanwhile, his family has requested an autopsy to review the cause of death.
