“His Life Isn't Ending Here”: South Bay Mom Turns Son's Unexpected Death Into Life-Saving Mission

February 22, 2018, started out as a day like so many before for Kyle Taylor.

The 18-year-old Leigh High School graduate, went to classes at West Valley (Kyle was studying business with an interest in real estate). Kyle then raided the family’s refrigerator before heading off to a friend’s house.

That, however, is when typical turned into tragic.

With no warning signs, Kyle fainted at his friend's house and passed away at the hospital that night from sudden cardiac arrest. Kyle’s mother, Jennifer Sarmento, would later learn that Kyle had been living with an undiagnosed and undetected medical condition: an enlarged heart. 

To Jennifer, Kyle’s death was as startling as it was unfathomable. He had played sports his whole life, was physically fit, and got a clean bill of health after a physical just two months prior. 

“I couldn't tell at the time what it meant, but I told my husband and my daughter, 'His life isn't ending here,” Jennifer said. “We are going to continue it in someway.'"

That way has turned into The Kyle J. Taylor Foundation. 

Beginning in 2019, Jennifer and other volunteers have been going to high schools to provide free electrocardiograms for high school students, particularly athletes.

The goal of the screenings is to detect cardiac issues that aren’t normally tested for in routine checkups. A screening such as this, Jennifer says, could have detected Kyle’s condition. 

“I can't just sit by and not help people know that this can happen to your child,” Jennifer said. “You start hearing all these other stories in your community and that it's not as rare as everybody thinks it is."

So far, of the 2,000 screenings the foundation has done, two dozen cases have come up needing further investigation.

As gratifying as those results are, the work isn’t always easy for Jennifer. Every day, surrounded by the teenagers she is screening, she’s reminded of the pain and heartbreak of losing a healthy teen boy in the blink of an eye. 

But the pain she feels is evened out by knowing each screening is another parent who won’t find themself in her shoes. 

“There are some days that I don't want to be doing this. I don't want to be doing this work. But, I know that it's making an impact and I know that Kyle is making an impact. It warms my heart to know that I am hopefully helping a family avoid this grief. That means everything to me."