A community has been left in mourning after the untimely death of an 18-year-old high schooler who collapsed at her graduation ceremony.
As per tragic reports, 18-year-old Sienna Stewart was diagnosed with heart failure in April after receiving a transplant ten years ago. Sienna had lived with severe cardiomyopathy since the age of 4 and began “getting sick” earlier this year.
The aforementioned transplant had reportedly allowed her to live a “relatively normal life for 10 years,” but the young woman then started “getting weak and slowing down.
Mom Saevon Chum revealed that her daughter experienced episodes where she would collapse, and she suffered one such episode at her graduation on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
In a video shared by Hiram High School, the school principal can be heard shouting: “Just give us a second please, we have a student, just give us a second…”
When Saevon arrived, paramedics were already attending her daughter. “When I got there, the ambulance was already there,” the mom recalled. “She had collapsed. She had had another episode. But this was the first time she collapsed unconscious.”
Sienna regained consciousness a few minutes later, and ultimately decided to attend her ceremony instead of traveling to the hospital..
“All she could tell me is, ‘I just want to graduate, I want to walk.’ That’s all she wanted, because she already missed her prom, because before then she was in the hospital and missed her senior prom,” Saevon said.
Tragically, Sienna died Wednesday, June 12, a few short weeks after receiving her diploma.
“As a mom, you feel so proud because she just fought through something that hurts her. You have to be proud. Till the end, I was proud,” Saevon said.
As per Sienna’s obituary, the young woman planned to attend college and was on course to study sonogram tech in the fall.
Rest in peace, Sienna Stewart.
