A Shawnee Mission Northwest student died last week following a medical emergency at a football practice.
In an email to parents and families Friday morning, SM Northwest principal Lisa Gruman identified the student as Ovet Gomez Regalado, a sophomore at the school.
“This is such a difficult loss for our community, and we will have extra support available for anyone that needs it — staff or students,” Gruman said in her email.
This is the fourth SM Northwest student to die in the past 14 months.
A “medical emergency” at football practice
A Johnson County Med-Act ambulance responded to a “medical emergency” at SM Northwest on Wednesday afternoon, according to the emergency service’s public information officer Joe Folsom.
There, they “found a 15-year-old patient who was in critical condition,” Folsom said. That teenager was transported to a local hospital.
Gruman alerted staff to the incident in an email the next day, saying that a football player had needed “emergency medical attention” at a practice the evening before and was hospitalized and receiving treatment.
“We want to respect the family needs right now and keep them close in our thoughts as the student receives care from his medical team,” Gruman said in her Thursday email.
Students and teachers are in shock
On Friday morning at 10:40 a.m., Gruman instructed teachers over the school’s intercom to share with students a sensitive email regarding the death of Gomez Regalado.
Gruman said in her email that death is always difficult to handle, especially of someone so young, and that it will be important for students, staff and others in the school community to process what’s happened and express those feelings.
“It is important to understand that there will be many details that we do not know,” Gruman wrote to parents. “Your child will hear many different things, but please encourage them not to make guesses and spread rumors. The family will need privacy as they struggle to handle their grief, and the administration is asking everyone to respect that privacy.”
Many students and staff were visibly shaken by the news Friday, and some were in tears, including school librarian Meghan Stigge, whose own son is in Gomez Regalado’s grade.
“Part of being human is being empathetic when others are struggling,” Stigge said. “So this [death] was especially hard because the news broke during the school day. I think probably it was the first time a lot of the students had heard the news, so that initial emotional reaction can be more pronounced at first. That was what made the day a little more intense.”
Tributes online and a fundraiser for family
An online fundraiser on crowdfunding site GoFundMe was created Friday by a woman identifying herself as a friend of Gomez Regalado’s family.
It has a goal of raising $25,000. As of Monday morning, donors had pledged more than $29,000.
“Ovet was only 15 years old and one of the kindest humans. He was always offering a huge smile with a hug. All that knew him loved him,” the GoFundMe’s summary reads.
Similar sentiments were echoed in social media posts that poured in after news of Gomez Regalado’s death began circulating, including from Gomez Regalado’s teammates on SM Northwest’s football team.
A guy that was full of love and life. Anytime you would see him he was smiling, the kid knew how to brighten up the room naturally. Love you brother rest in peace #LLO 🪽 https://t.co/t5UH0LfXrU
— Logan Morley (@logan_morley6) August 17, 2024
“A guy that was full of love and life. Anytime you would see him he was smiling, the kid knew how to brighten up the room naturally,” Logan Morley, SM Northwest’s senior quarterback, posted to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.
“One of the nicest kids you could ever meet,” posted Joshua Mackiewicz, another senior on the team.
Carissa Hunt, a teacher in the Shawnee Mission School District who says she knew Gomez Regalado in both elementary and middle school, called him “one of the kindest students I’ve ever had the privilege of working with” on a post on Facebook.
“The last time I saw Ovet was last school year during the district wrestling tournament,” Hunt wrote on Facebook. “He was a freshman then. He bear hugged me in that Ovet way. He was just always so happy to see people he cared about. If he cared about you; you knew it.”
More resources are available
On Friday, school and district officials converted the library into a space for students to seek help and emotional support.
District officials were seen in the halls offering their support.
“Again, there are many questions that we cannot answer, but we can be here to support each other during this difficult time,” Gruman wrote in her email Friday. “Ovet was such a warm and wonderful student that touched the hearts of so many in our community.”
School board member Jaime Borgman, who represents the SM Northwest area and whose children also attend the school, said in a statement texted to the Post, “The SMNW community is grieving the loss of Ovet. He had a very bright future and we are trying to make sense of this tragedy. Hug your kids extra tight.”
School and district officials are available to offer counseling and any additional help.
Students may visit the main office from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., no appointment needed, if they wish to talk with a social worker or counselor.
If they would like to talk to someone outside of those hours, the 988 National Hotline for management of mental health and crisis situations is available 24 hours.
This story was originally published by the Johnson County Post. Mike Frizzell and Kyle Palmer contributed.
