(no subject)
Parchment teenager dies days after graduation
Monday, June 06, 2005
Gazette Staff Reports
A 17-year-old boy who graduated from Parchment High School on Friday died early today after an apparent allergic reaction.
After his graduation open house Sunday afternoon, Mike Stuut was headed to another open house in Lake Doster when he became sick, said the teen's mother, Linda Stuut.
Stuut pulled his vehicle over and let a friend drive the rest of the way to the open house, Linda Stuut said.
When the friends arrived at the Lake Doster residence, rescue workers were called, she said.
"Then things just spiraled downward," Linda Stuut said.
By the time his parents met him at Pipp Community Hospital in Plainwell, the teen was covered in a rash, and he was having difficulty breathing.
He also was in a lot of pain, his mother said.
He died about 3 a.m. today at the hospital. Linda Stuut said family members are awaiting autopsy results on a cause of death.
Family members were not aware that the teen had any food allergies, she said.
"Something went terribly wrong," Linda Stuut said.
The teenager was a member of Parchment's calculus team and was planning to attend Western Michigan University this fall to study computer science. He was also a member of the Boy Scouts and was working to become an Eagle Scout, his mother said.
"He was a very nice kid, a great kid," said Parchment High School Principal Scott Karaptian. "He was well known and very well liked."
Linda Stuut said this morning that funeral arrangements have not been completed. A memorial service will be held at North Park Reformed Church, Karaptian said.
Besides his parents, Mike Stuut is survived by two older sisters, Andrea and Alison.
"He was just a good kid," Linda Stuut said of her son this morning. "Every night he always said, 'I love you' before he went to bed. It's very hard.
"Very hard."