One day after his baseball team won their championship game, a 10-year-old lad passed away from cardiac arrest.
Based on a GoFundMe account, Bryson Funk passed on June 12 following a “unexpected” cardiac incident earlier that day.
According to CBS affiliate WHP, the Dauphin County lad pitched for the Linglestown Colts. On June 11, Funk knocked out the last hitter of the game to claim the championship, according to his teammate 9-year-old Elias Vilfort.
GoFundMe organizer Nicki Brantner, a cousin of Funk’s mother, reported that the next day Funk entered “cardiac arrest brought on by myocarditis.”
Family said WHP Funk had a malformed bicuspid aortic valve and coarctation of the aorta from birth. Doctors, they added, did not think the boy’s death had anything to do with those disorders.
Before hitting the last batter for a “amazing championship win,” Funk pitched the last three innings of the game. Brantner described Funk as “quite the athlete.”
“His parents are now facing what no parent should ever endure,” she added. She shared a bible verse from Psalm 34:18, which reads, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
According to WHP, Funk enjoyed visits to Hersheypark and loved gathering baseball cards. Since his passing, he said several individuals have sent baseball cards in Funk’s honor.
“I’m just still shocked that this happened, and I never even thought of this happening,” Vilfort told the news outlet.
Posting on its Facebook page, 717 Athletics, a nonprofit competitive cheer team Funk belonged to, honored the late kid.
