Mom of 13-year-old who died at DFW football tryouts says his death was preventable
On Tuesday, it had been exactly two years since an Arlington mother buried her 13-year-old son.
Now, Monica McBride-Debbs said she wants to ensure no other parent has to bury their child for the reasons she did.
In August 2018, Kyrell McBride-Johnson collapsed on the field during football tryouts at Summer Creek Middle School in Crowley. First coaches, then paramedics gave Kyrell CPR on the field and on the way to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest. EMS found a pulse and put Kyrell on a CareFlight to Cook Children’s Medical Center, but the teen stopped breathing again on the way there. This time, no one could revive him.
“This has changed my life forever,” his mother, McBride-Debbs, said. “I cannot fill the void with anything. No matter how busy I get. It makes me feel better that I’m working to get justice for him.”
McBride-Debbs says her son would still be alive if staff at CareNow clinic in Fort Worth had done their jobs thoroughly. Kyrell saw a physician’s assistant at the clinic on McCart Avenue six days before football tryouts to complete a school physical. The physician’s assistant cleared him to play football despite what McBride-Debbs said were signs that her son should have been evaluated further.
On Aug. 12, McBride-Debbs filed a lawsuit against CareNow and the PA.
In response to the lawsuit, CareNow Clinic, owned by Primary Health Inc., said their “hearts go out to this family regarding the loss of their loved one. This is a tragedy, particularly because it involves a child, and we continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”
The PA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kyrell checked three boxes on his medical questionnaire that should have raised red flags, according to the lawsuit.
“Have you ever had chest pain during or after exercise? Yes.”
“Have you ever become ill from exercising in the heat? Yes.”
“Do you have asthma? Yes.”
Kyrell also told the PA he sometimes felt his heart skip a beat. But McBride-Debbs said the PA wrote in her notes that she thought the chest pain was due to asthma and that Kyrell did not get ill after exercising in the heat. The PA completed a physical evaluation of Kyrell, noted normal findings, and cleared him for school sports.
The PA did not order a full standard history or consultation with the regular physician, which McBride-Debbs’ attorney, Reid Martin, said violates the standard of care.
“These questionnaires are designed to be a screening tool, and it needed to be taken seriously,” Martin said. “They just didn’t do their job in this case. He should be with us today because this was a preventable death.”
Kyrell’s autopsy showed he had an anomaly in his heart called ACA, which stands for anomalous coronary artery. ACA is the second most common cause of sudden death in young athletes, according to Stanford Healthcare.
Martin said this anomaly would have been caught if the PA recommended Kyrell for a consultation with a physician.
“I want the medical community to know what happened and to take these screenings more seriously,” McBride-Debbs said. “That would prevent any other parent, any other mom, to have to go through what I went through with my 13-year-old son, who had a very promising life ahead of him.”
She also formed Kyrell’s First Quarter Foundation, which provides automatic external defibrillators — AEDs — and CPR training to high school coaches and athletes. On Tuesday night, she planned to host free CPR training and donate an AED to a football team at the Highland Hills Recreation Center in Fort Worth.
McBride-Debbs, who also takes care of her six daughters, said Kyrell was energetic, funny and had dreams of being a wide receiver.
“I just want the doctors to take these screenings more seriously, so they can prevent another young 13-year-old from losing their life,” she said.
