A community is grieving after the heartbreaking loss of 18-year-old Sienna Stewart, who collapsed during her high school graduation ceremony.
Sienna had been diagnosed with heart failure in April, following a heart transplant she received 10 years ago. She had battled severe cardiomyopathy since the age of 4, but the transplant had given her the chance to live a “relatively normal life” for a decade. Earlier this year, her health began to deteriorate.
Her mother, Saevon Chum, shared that Sienna had experienced several episodes where she would collapse. On Thursday, May 23, 2024, during her graduation ceremony at Hiram High School, Sienna suffered another episode and collapsed.
In a video shared by the school, the principal can be heard addressing the crowd: “Just give us a second, please, we have a student, just give us a second…”
Saevon arrived to find paramedics already attending to her daughter. “When I got there, the ambulance was already there. She had collapsed. She had had another episode. But this was the first time she collapsed unconscious,” Saevon recalled.
Sienna regained consciousness after a few minutes and made the brave decision to stay and participate in the graduation ceremony instead of going to the hospital. “All she could tell me is, ‘I just want to graduate, I want to walk.’ That’s all she wanted, because she already missed her prom,” Saevon said.
Tragically, Sienna passed away on Wednesday, June 12, just weeks after receiving her diploma.
“As a mom, you feel so proud because she just fought through something that hurts her. You have to be proud. Till the end, I was proud,” Saevon shared.
According to her obituary, Sienna had planned to attend college in the fall to study sonogram technology.
Rest in peace, Sienna Stewart.
