Sarah's Story

Sarah lived life with purpose. She was a beautiful girl who was loved by her friends, teachers and her family. She was a student, a sister, a daughter and now she is an inspiration. An inspiration to save lives and to prevent other families from having to endure such a loss. And although she is gone, we are reminded each year of her strength and courage as we Run for Sarah.

On July 14, 2004, Sarah Friend set off to NRH20 Water Park and never returned home. She was three weeks short of her 13th birthday, with so much to live for. She collapsed climbing the stairs of a water coaster and was not resuscitated. In the dark hours that followed, the cause of her untimely death was announced as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) — a thickening of the heart muscle. But as more details surfaced the actual cause of death was diagnosed as Sudden Cardiac Arrest or SCA — the leading cause of death on school property with one student passing away every three to four days.

Sarah’s passing made apparent the serious need for proper training of personnel in public places and schools in order to recognize and respond to the treatment of emergencies including cardiac emergencies. When someone suffers a cardiac arrest and their heart goes into ventricular fibrillation, the only life saving remedy is an AED.

The aftermath of this tragic event left many unanswered questions, the largest of which we know would have come from Sarah.

How can we prevent this from happening again?

As a result Sarah's parents, Laura and Luther Friend, launched the Sarah Friend Heart Foundation.

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