GOSHEN, Ohio — A teen, who was supposed to be celebrating with his family on the first day of school, died an hour after he posed for the traditional first day of school photo.
Peyton West, 13, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He had three open-heart surgeries by the time he was 5, WCPO reported. In March 2017, he had a heart transplant.
After worrying about health setbacks and potential rejection, everything was going well Thursday for Peyton.
The "courageous" Peyton West survived a heart transplant this year — only to die on his first day of eighth grade. https://t.co/g1fKw20vLn pic.twitter.com/okDYurfbSK
— WCPO (@WCPO) August 18, 2017
But after the photographic moment, the day started to turn.
First, he said during a car ride to school that he wasn't feeling right and that something was wrong, WCPO reported. He was riding with his older brother, according to WKRC.
He was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where he died later that morning.
The announcement was posted to the Facebook page that chronicled his fight.
Peyton passed away this morning at 10:45am. We will post more when we know.
Posted by Pray for Peyton: Remembering Peyton and Derek on Thursday, August 17, 2017
Love you buddy. So strong.
Posted by Pray for Peyton: Remembering Peyton and Derek on Thursday, August 17, 2017
WKRC reported that an autopsy is scheduled to find out what happened to Peyton.
Cox Media Group