Devin Royer update (R.I.P)

According to latest news, the official cause of death for Devin Royer WILL be listed as heart failure mainly due to it being the underlying cause.
Iowa schools, I have been told, have their students get physicals every OTHER year, which where I'm from, Illinois, they require physicals EVERY year, no matter what.
I've been informed that Devin did NOT yet have a physical done...............my question I pose is why didn't he?
He had already started practices and such but had yet to have a physical done?
Was this due to the school not informing anyone or the parents not following through and having it done?
Either way, this is something that MAY have been found out ahead of time and then this tragic incident may have never happened.
So far in regards to the autopsy, they have found scarring which means that Devin has had a PREVIOUS attack on his heart. As I'm sure we all know, not all heart problems come with symptoms and anyone at any given time can suffer some sort of damage to their heart without even knowing about it but as I mentioned, there was damage done to his heart already.
Yes, Devin's death will be listed as due to heart failure/aneurysm which can occur at any time. Believe it or not, he could have had a physical two months prior to this and STILL had this happen to him but regardless, he could have at least been given somewhat more of a chance if a physical would have been performed and then maybe, just maybe this problem with his heart may have come to light.
I don't know what the physicals, especially for track include here in Iowa but if you ask me for something like this, I think they need to be hooked up and given a stress test and have EKG's done in order to see what the heart can and can't take and then hopefully something like this will never happen again or at least be able to be helped before it gets to this stage, which of course is death!
I just think that there could and should have been something done beforehand which could have either found all of this out or at least given a physician and/or the family a heads up.
It just seems to me that someone, maybe not just one person but someone, somewhere, dropped the ball and didn't do their proper job which in turn led to this young teenager's death.
I surely think something like this could have been prevented if proper steps were taken.

The Day After.......

Well, it’s the day after the somber day at school.
When my son came home yesterday, I asked him if anyone got back to school and said anything in regards to the funeral and he said that he actually went.
I was surprised that he went because he kept saying over and over yesterday morning that he wasn’t going to go............more than likely some friends of his that were going talked him into it.
I’m glad he went because it’s a good experience for him to see that even young people are not immune to such tragedies but it’s also a bit bothersome because of how scary it probably was for everyone, not just him.
He’s been to funerals before but they were for older family members and he’s never seen someone young in the same way, but I think he handled it well.
I asked him how it went and how things were and he said that everyone was crying which is truly a given and then I asked him if he cried and he said yes. He said it was hard for him not too because it finally hit him that he’ll never see him in the hallways anymore, he’ll never be able to talk to him again or see him next door again.
I asked him how Devin looked and he said he was really pale but they did a good job on making him look the same. He said a few of the kids that saw him the day he collapsed were commenting about how good he looked but that he also looked so different...........which I think can be said by all of us in regards to how a deceased person looks at their funeral.
I’ve had people that I hardly recognized even though I just saw them the day or week before they passed.
He said he’s glad he went, that way he was able to say his good-bye’s to Devin and I told him I was very proud of him for going. He’s surprised me ever so much with how he’s dealt with this whole situation.
I have a good boy.

Devin Royer-15...........funeral today.

Well, today at little Troy's school is going to be a very somber day for one and all.
One of their classmates died.
Devin was a very active and young being that tragically and unexpectedly lost his life but he was doing something that he always wanted to do.
He had a skin condition which made his skin very thin. If he bumped against something, he would at the least bruise extensively if his skin didn't rip open.
The boy had wanted to go out for track and this was his first year.
The track team was going to have a competition the next night, Friday March 28th and the kids were training the night before, Thursday March 27th.
Apparently, Devin was doing his warming up which included a bit of running, well the next thing anyone knew, he was face down on the track.
He had an undiagnosed heart problem too and with this exertion on this particular day, it was apparently too much for him and his heart gave out due to an aneurysm.
When he fell, as I mentioned earlier, he fell flat on his face which caused massive injuries, cuts, scrapes, gashes and such due to his skin problem.
He then tried to get up after falling but fell back to the track and was out for good that time but of course this second fall caused even more damage to his face.
They got him to the hospital and worked on the heart condition which they were successful in bringing him back but in the end, the facial contusions he suffered were too much as was the blood loss and he ended up passing away, Thursday evening.
The funeral is today.
The kids, especially my next door neighbor who was one of his best friends and actually Devin was just over here about a week ago, she was really hoping that this is all just going to be a very cruel April Fool's joke, but alas I don't think it is, which is a shame.
Devin was a good kid and did not deserve to have his life end in this manner.
This just goes to show that anyone, no matter how good of a person you are, how young you are or who you are, you can and will be struck down, with no regard to you, your family or your friends.
My son was planning on going to the funeral but all of sudden changed his mind..........I'm not sure why but I think he started to get scared. To see another young kid lying dead at the funeral home, knowing full well that he'll never see him again or speak to him or anyone ever again. I don't think Troy will ever admit this but to me it makes sense. It was a major thing for him to want to go to the funeral and then all of a sudden changed his mind.
If I were feeling better, I may have taken him but I personally don't think I could handle seeing a child lying there that is just a few years older than Troy & the same age as my oldest son Christian.
I feel awful for his family and all of Devin's friends. Troy said he was very nice to him the times they spoke during school and that he was a good kid. He will be missed by so many.
Following is his death announcement.


Devin Kyle Royer, 15, of Fort Madison died unexpectedly at 5:16 p.m. Thursday, March 27, 2008, at the Fort Madison Community Hospital.

He was born Nov. 13, 1992, in Iowa City to Kevin Royer and Jody Mack DeWitt.

He was a student in the eighth grade at the Fort Madison Middle School. He played trumpet in the Fort Madison Middle School Band, he was in the Drama Club, the Junior Bowling League, and he had just joined the Fort Madison Middle School Track Team. He enjoyed skating, swimming, video games, and music. He was a good listener and friend to many and had hopes of becoming a counselor.

Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Dean and Jody Mack DeWitt, of Fort Madison; his father, Kevin Royer (Linda Patchett) of Fort Madison; three brothers, Pvt. James Mack, of Fort Madison, Dalton Royer, of Fort Madison and Dylan Royer of Fort Madison; two sisters, Jessica (husband Colt) Simerl, of N.C. and Hevin Royer, of Fort Madison; two stepbrothers, Thomas Raines of Texas and Sgt. Joshua (wife Erica) DeWitt, of Vilseck; one stepsister, Jessica (husband John) Downey of Fort Madison; grandparents Orville and Rose Mack of Kahoka, Mo., Ron and Renee Royer of Keota, Jean Royer of California, Henry Royer, of California and Charles and Melva DeWitt of Wever; numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandmother.

Friends may call after 1 p.m. Monday, March 31 at the Barr Memorial Chapel, where the family will meet friends from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 1 at the Barr Memorial Chapel, with Pastor "Jun" Rolando Alip officiating. Burial will be at the Oakland Cemetery in Fort Madison. A memorial has been established and contributions may be made at the Barr Memorial Chapel. Online condolences to the family may be made at the Barr Memorial Chapel website, www.barrmemorialchapel.com.