July 14, 2004 - I thought this was already posted - but it appears I did not. God Bless Sarah.
Lisa
Heart problem caused girl's death, officials say
A 12-year-old girl who collapsed at NRH20 water park Wednesday
and died a short time later suffered from a heart condition,
officials said.
Sarah Friend, 12, of North Richland Hills collapsed as she
climbed the steps of The Green Extreme water coaster at the water
park. She was taken to North Hills Hospital, where she died of
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes that heart
wall to become thick and disrupt the blood flow, relatives said
Thursday.
"We had no idea," said her mother, Laura Friend. "She had her
physicals every year. She was a healthy, strong-spirited girl."
Sarah had just completed her last day of junior lifeguard
training at the water park Wednesday and was playing with a friend,
said her father, Luther Friend.
On Thursday, the family was still recovering from the shock of
Sarah's death.
Laura Friend spent all of her time with her daughter, who loved
to stay at home. They took walks, talked about books and baked
brownies together.
"We fought about who would lick the bowl," she said.
Sarah loved the water. Her mother and she were planning a pool
party for her birthday, Aug. 10. She played the clarinet in band
and was planning to join the choir in her last year at Smithfield
Middle School.
Albertsons, the company where Luther Friend is employed, will
hold a two-minute moment of silence at 9 a.m. Saturday in its
Metroplex stores.
"I'm nothing without her. She was everything to me," Laura
Friend said. "She was so beautiful, so special, the perfect child."
-- Leila Fadel
Lisa
Heart problem caused girl's death, officials say
A 12-year-old girl who collapsed at NRH20 water park Wednesday
and died a short time later suffered from a heart condition,
officials said.
Sarah Friend, 12, of North Richland Hills collapsed as she
climbed the steps of The Green Extreme water coaster at the water
park. She was taken to North Hills Hospital, where she died of
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes that heart
wall to become thick and disrupt the blood flow, relatives said
Thursday.
"We had no idea," said her mother, Laura Friend. "She had her
physicals every year. She was a healthy, strong-spirited girl."
Sarah had just completed her last day of junior lifeguard
training at the water park Wednesday and was playing with a friend,
said her father, Luther Friend.
On Thursday, the family was still recovering from the shock of
Sarah's death.
Laura Friend spent all of her time with her daughter, who loved
to stay at home. They took walks, talked about books and baked
brownies together.
"We fought about who would lick the bowl," she said.
Sarah loved the water. Her mother and she were planning a pool
party for her birthday, Aug. 10. She played the clarinet in band
and was planning to join the choir in her last year at Smithfield
Middle School.
Albertsons, the company where Luther Friend is employed, will
hold a two-minute moment of silence at 9 a.m. Saturday in its
Metroplex stores.
"I'm nothing without her. She was everything to me," Laura
Friend said. "She was so beautiful, so special, the perfect child."
-- Leila Fadel
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