In Memory of Uryan Rampersaud

By Zena Ballas

On Thursday, December 29^th 2011, Lawrence High School’s senior Uryan Rampersaud sadly passed away due to heart complications. He died from a collapsed mitral valve in the heart which is when the valve (a valve controls blood flow) doesn’t close properly and the blood doesn’t flow correctly.

There was a memorial service held at the high school on December 31^st. Uryan’s uncle explained at the memorial how on Thursday, Uryan went upstairs and didn’t return after 15 minutes. His younger cousin went upstairs to check on him, came back downstairs and said Uryan was sleeping with his eyes open and that his lips were blue. They called the ambulance, and after performing CPR and taking him to the hospital, he didn’t make it.

Many students went to the wake which was held for three days before the funeral. The funeral service was held on Tuesday, January 3^rd. Many friends and family members of Uryan showed up to show their respect and love. LHS arranged four buses that carried approximately 120 students to the funeral.

I am part of the newspaper club at Lawrence High School and we decided to dedicate an entire issue as a tribute to Uryan Rampersaud. Anyone can keep this issue and I helped gather quotes and pictures from students that cared and loved Uryan deeply.

The day of the funeral was the most silent day that Lawrence High School has experienced in awhile. The passing of Uryan has affected so many students that some of them are trying to make a difference by helping to raise money for Uryan’s family through fundraising online. If you would like to donate, you can go to:

http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise/pop?fcid=180035.

This will all take a long time to heal but as long as the family and friends of Uryan keep his memories in their hearts, he will never be forgotten.