Waukesha Student Kai Lermer's Legacy To Live On In Proposed Bill

WAUKESHA, WI— The father of a teen athlete who died in 2019 from a rare heart condition announced the introduction of a bill to help prevent another child's death under similar circumstances.

Kai Lermer was a triathlete at Waukesha North High School who died unexpectedly at the age of 16 of an undiagnosed condition that led to sudden cardiac arrest. After his death, his father, Mike Lermer, lobbied the Wisconsin Legislature to introduce a bill to prevent any future high school athletes from dying in the same way.

"If this becomes a law, we can save countless lives in the coming years and prevent this tragedy from impacting another family," Mike Lermer said in a statement.

The bill, LRB-0651 (The Kai 11 Bill), will be introduced in the Wisconsin State Assembly Tuesday. Rep. Scott Allen (R) of Waukesha and Senator Alberta Darling (R) of River Hills are currently circulating legislation for co-sponsorship known as “The Kai Lermer Bill”.

Rep. Allen released the following statement:

“It is an honor to work with Senator Alberta Darling on such an important piece of legislation. Sudden cardiac arrest may be avoidable. You can’t make a choice to see a cardiologist and get a screening unless you know that option is available. This bill empowers parents and participants in youth sports to determine what is in their best interests. I’m grateful that Mike Lermer brought this issue to our attention, and hope that what we learned with Kai’s loss will save the lives of other young people.”

The bill is simple: Parents of student athletes will receive information on the risks of sudden cardiac arrest, and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association will offer parents the option of letting their child receive an electrocardiogram test to uncover any unknown heart conditions prior to being approved to play a sport.

Honoring Kai

Kai Lermer went through a standard physical every year before playing sports and showed none of the signs of cardiac disease.

He had just finished basketball season and was starting track, so he was in peak condition. Kai was enjoying his first day of spring break in March 2019 and had been playing basketball when he went into cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the hospital and died April 3.

Kai was an honor student who also helped mentor younger students. He was just starting to apply to universities and was planning to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison or UW-Whitewater at the time of his death.

His parents didn't know that Kai had a cardiac condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare illness that causes rapid heart beat. It could have been discovered with a simple EKG test.

After Kai's death, his family received hundreds of letters from Kai’s classmates sharing memories of how Kai had touched their lives. The family wanted to give back, so they started the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund in association with the Waukesha County Community Foundation to support the awareness, detection and prevention of heart disease in children, teenagers and young adults.

Kai's mom, Patty Lermer, is involved, as is Kai's godfather, Paul Ybarra. To date, the fund has trained more than 200 people in CPR and placed 14 automated external defibrillators in the city of Waukesha.

The fund also funds the improvement of the Waukesha North athletics program and the Waukesha parks and recreation system and offers scholarships.

EKG testing was offered in August to more than 200 Waukesha High School students. The testing found that one student had a heart condition, potentially saving their life, Lermer said.

"Wisconsin is behind other states when it comes to addressing the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in young adults," Lermer said in a statement. "One in 300 young adults between the ages of 14 and 25 have an underlying heart condition. SCA is the number one killer of student athletes. Standard physicals miss 90% of heart conditions in young adults. If our family had been made aware of these facts it could have been a different story with Kai."

The family is asking people to reach out to their representatives and senators to support the Kai Lermer 11 bill.

Visit legis.wisconsin.gov to find your local State Representative. People can find out more about the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund by visiting the Facebook page. To learn more about EKG testing, visit Heart Smart and Parent Heart Watch.