Heart issue cited as cause of teen's death

The Bartholomew County Coroner has concluded that a Hauser student's death on Thursday was caused by an "acute heart related issue."

Coroner Clayton Nolting said that his office was contacted by the Columbus Regional Hospital Emergency Department after the sudden, unexpected death of 18-year-old Trevor J. Frazee. Frazee was brought to the emergency room by ambulance after a 911 call at 11:55 a.m. Thursday, after the teen complained of difficulty breathing. 

"After the ambulance arrived, the patient coded and advanced life support protocols were initiated and the patient was transported to the (Emergency Department) where he was later pronounced dead," according to a press release from the coroner's office.. 

Nolting ordered an autopsy, which was performed on Friday. The investigation concluded that Frazee died from an acute heart-related issue.

Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School offered counseling opportunities for students on Friday and will do so this week also. The school posted a Facebook note to its students, families and staff on Friday afternoon, talking about the difficult day after Frazee's death: 

When tragedies like this happen, communities step up. We’d like to thank the greater Bartholomew County area for helping us serve our students during this difficult time. BCSC has provided access to any additional counselors that we might need. We have a Centerstone counselor on campus every day, but they sent a team to assist us today and will be available in the coming weeks if the need arises. Local pastors have stepped in to help. And we haven’t had to ask. When people find out what happened they just let us know that they will be here to help."

Today we have allowed students to come in for counseling or to just find a quiet space as they process the loss of a classmate. One of the things about a smaller school is that we do all know each other. Even if one is not particularly close with every other student in the building, we all see each other every day. When someone is missing we all notice it. In this case we all know that a certain seat at the lunch table or in the classroom will remain empty from now on. It impacts us all in different ways and at different times. We will take the time we need to process it in the way that each of us is able to find some solace. We recognize that finding comfort does not have a particular timeline.

While we may power through for the next few days this is not a loss that will, at some point, be over. It may be in three days or three weeks or three months. Then it will suddenly hit us again. That seat is still empty. We don’t necessarily know how we are supposed to feel. We just know it doesn’t feel right. Fortunately, we have our Hauser family to lean on.

And that’s the other thing about being at a smaller school. We take advantage of the opportunities we have to know our students and their families well. We don’t apologize for taking extra steps to know our kids well. We aren’t sorry that we are able to develop caring relationships. We don’t withdraw from the fact that those relationships take us to the point that when our kids hurt, we hurt. That’s just part of who we are and why we do what we do.

Thanks to you all for your understanding and acceptance of our students’ needs today. Thanks for being Hauser Jets.

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