A talented Delta teen is being mourned by the local baseball community following his sudden death this week after falling while he was vaping nicotine.
Kyle Losse, 14, was at home with family Sunday afternoon when he suddenly fainted.
His stepmom Niki Losse said the family heard a loud noise from the bathroom. They found the teen on the floor with a vape pen or e-cigarette beside him.
“He was very disoriented. We didn’t know if he hit his head,” Losse said. “We don’t know if he got dizzy.”
They took Kyle to Delta Hospital where doctors ran blood and urine tests, she said. His stepmom said his heart rate and blood pressure were low when he was admitted. He was given fluids and encouraged to stay awake because his pulse would plunge when he shut his eyes. He was throwing up and complaining that his head hurt, Losse said.
His vital signs had improved by 6 a.m. Monday when he was released from Delta Hospital. But just seven hours later the teen was on his way to B.C. Children’s Hospital in an ambulance, said his stepmom.
At Children’s he was placed on life support and died Tuesday at 2:22 p.m.
The cause of his death is not known, however, the B.C. Coroners Service confirmed they are investigating the death of a Delta teen.
Losse questioned the care the boy received at Delta Hospital.
“I do feel there was some negligence on their part. I feel that more should have been done,” said Losse, who said the e-cigarette tested as nicotine, and not an illicit drug.
“How hard is it to run tests to make sure nothing else is wrong?”
Fraser Health’s Tasleem Juma expressed sympathy for the Losse family.
“We performed both toxicological and neurological tests and kept the patient for an extended observation period to which he started to improve,” Juma said of the treatment the teen received at Delta Hospital.
“The patient was neurologically stable when he was discharged with no indication of any outstanding issues. We have reached out to the family to extend our sympathies and explain our plans to review their loved one’s care?”
Kyle Losse, a baseball prodigy, is being mourned by many in the community.
“He was just an amazing kid. He was kind to everyone he knew, he was involved in the community,” said his stepmom.
His biological mom Jamie Palidwar said Kyle “was just amazing.”
“He was just the nicest boy. He was just so nice to me, he really loved his mom,” Palidwar said. “He is greatly missed of course.”
Kyle attended South Delta Secondary School and played on the Delta Tigers Bantam AAA. He also had played football but quit recently to focus on his passion for baseball and a potential future in the sport.
“He’s a shortstop and an amazing pitcher and home run extraordinaire,” said Losse. “He hit many home runs this year and (threw) many strikeouts this year. He just had a contagious smile and great big curly hair that was just insane.
“Everyone just loves him.”
Kyle’s dad Brian coached him for years and the teen had also been selected for the Arizona Diamondbacks Canada Scout Team. Most recently, Milwaukee Brewers scout Marty Lehn had expressed interest in Kyle to the family after meeting the teen at a youth baseball camp, even though he wouldn’t be eligible to be drafted until he was 18.
“He had told us several times that, you know, ‘I want Kyle. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this happen,’” Losse said. “So he was definitely going to the MLB. Somebody said online — the MLB will never get to witness its greatest player.”
Kyle was among a handful of younger players on the Delta Tigers, which is made up of mostly Grade 9 students. He had been training with the Tigers for a couple of years and had been on the team since September.
Head coach Cam Frick remembered Losse as a player with natural talent, that he “could’ve played any sport and done really well.”
“He’s just a naturally gifted athlete,” Frick told Postmedia News. “Great attitude and just really passionate about baseball.
“He was the type of kid that — everyone liked the attitude he brought, always going all out, always happy, always smiling. Even though he was one of the younger kids on the team, he always set an example of the work ethic and attitude that we want all the kids to bring to the park every day.”
Brent Dingsdale, president of North Delta Baseball, also shared a statement on Losse’s death.
“The baseball community in North Delta is deeply saddened by the passing of Tsawwassen’s Kyle Losse,” it read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kyle’s family, friends and teammates.”
Delta police spokeswoman Cris Leykauf said school liaison officers were at South Delta Secondary to support staff and students following Losse’s death.
A Go Fund Me page launched by Ben Lock to benefit Losse’s family has been circulating online. In the two days since the campaign was started, it has multiplied its original $1,000 goal; as of Wednesday afternoon there was $5,295 collected.
Losse said the money from the Go Fund Me campaign in her stepson’s honour would be given to the baseball leagues where Kyle would have played next year.
Kyle is also survived by his biological dad Brian Losse, his brother Tyler, 7, sister Vada, 6, brother Joshua, 15, and his biological mom Jamie Palidwar.
A memorial Facebook page called Remembering Kyle Losse was also created by the teen’s family, attracting about 400 members in a day and countless tributes and messages of support.
A celebration of life will be held Sunday at noon in Tsawwassen’s Winskill Park. Kyle’s teammates, coaches and members of the local baseball community have been invited to attend in uniform.
