‘Caden was an angel from heaven’: Family speaks after Northwest Guilford Middle School student dies
By Bethany Cates
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GUILFORD COUNTY, North Carolina (WXII) — Caden Sorrell, a 13-year-old Northwest Guilford Middle School student, died a few days after going into cardiac arrest during football practice on Friday, leaving his family and friends devastated.
Vanessa Clark, Sorrell’s older sister, described her brother as “the boy who everyone called their best friend.”
She said, “Caden was an angel from heaven; he was brilliant, sweet, smart, kind; he made everybody around him feel loved.”
Clark said Friday started as a normal day before her world changed.
“I was actually in the middle of Walmart, got the call, my mom called me, and I immediately rushed to him,” she said.
Sorrell had just started football practice, ran a lap around the field, and then went into cardiac arrest.
“He was a picture of health,” Clark said, not understanding why this happened to her brother.
She shared a favorite memory of her brother, who wore the No. 42 for the Northwest Guilford Middle School Vikings and loved the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We were trying to wrestle because I thought I could take him, and I couldn’t. He taught me the hard way that I could not, but it was just the laughter that we shared together,” Clark said.
A family friend, Alan Vaughn, said they are working to raise awareness about the importance of automatic external defibrillators, which can aid in cardiac arrest.
“They’re very expensive; you can’t expect an AED to be in every room, but every little thing like this sometimes it takes to push the awareness,” Vaughn said.
Clark said that while she can no longer wrestle, her last words and memories are what will continue to keep her moving forward.
“I was praying for him, and I hoped that he got better, that he was healed, which he was spiritually,” Clark said. “I’m there for him, and I love him.”
A vigil will be held on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. in honor of Caden.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the family.
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