A Mama Remembers

Brock William Saparto was first and foremost, our son. He loved his family and friends fiercely. He was a gifted athlete and enjoyed playing youth soccer, football and baseball. Brock lived in Washington, Oregon, and Texas while growing up. Brock excelled in athletics and ultimately chose baseball as his favorite sport. Brock spent his summer traveling and playing baseball. He was even able to play baseball in Italy the summer of 2015! He went on to play college baseball. After obtaining his AA degree, he decided to join the workforce where he worked for Bass Pro Shops in Tulsa, OK. Eventually Brock took a job in renewable wind energy and became a millwright where he learned a trade and bought his first home in Wyoming on 80 acres. He loved being in the “middle of nowhere” and enjoyed working and traveling to windfarms while working right alongside his dad.

 

Brock was healthy and had a physical every year since the age of 10. He had asthma and allergies but we were never aware of any cardiac issue. Brock was on his way home from Palm Springs, CA in February of 2021 to rest up before heading out to Oregon for his next job. We had a historic freeze in Texas that year and it shut everything down. Brock decided to visit his girlfriend at Texas A & M that week and left that Tuesday morning looking healthy and happy and a “love you mama” as he walked out the door on that chilly Tuesday. We took the call no parent ever wants on February 18, 2021 at 6:43 pm. We were on the phone with his girlfriend as the EMS was dispatched. We had no idea what was going on and assumed maybe he was having an anaphylactic reaction. We gathered up our girls and were out the door at 7:03 to meet him at the hospital. We made it up to Bryan, Texas in record time. We pulled in at 8:28 PM only to learn that he had passed away 10 minutes earlier. We still had no idea what had happened. It was an awful, crumbling anguish for our family. We sat with him–perfect, but just not breathing. We hugged him and held his hand.

 

We would eventually learn that Brock’s heart was enlarged. The toxicology was clean, and the ME had no explanation as to why his heart was enlarged. He had numerous chest X-rays as a toddler with no inclination that his heart was enlarged. We do not have any family history of cardiac issues. Brock had just had a physical 3 weeks prior because he felt tired and dizzy and knew that something was off. The clinic he sought care from did not do an EKG or ECHO and dismissed his symptoms. We planned to follow up when he was home in Texas, but due to the freeze we were unable to make an appointment.

 

If Brock’s tragedy encourages one family to push for testing, hold their children a little tighter or just follow up with overall health we will feel the slightest sliver of HOPE. If Brock’s foundation can assist a grieving family with an educational scholarship our hope grows. This is for our baby boy and we hope that his story and this foundation provide a legacy for our sweet boy.

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