Illinois Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat, announced Friday that his daughter’s death in June was from a cardiac arrhythmia.
“This past June, our daughter, Gwen Casten, died of a sudden cardiac arrythmia. In layman’s terms, she was tremendous, after which her heart stopped,” the Casten family wrote in an announcement.
Gwen Casten, 17, died peacefully in her sleep in June after eating dinner together with her parents after which going out with friends for just a few hours.
The congressman said after his daughter’s passing that she had been looking forward to starting her freshman 12 months on the University of Vermont this fall.
The family said Gwen was a healthy teenager who ate well, exercised, received regular medical check-ups, didn’t suffer from any behavioral issues and was close with family and friends.
She was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the family said of their statement.
“We’re heartbroken, but we are usually not unique,” the statement read. “Sudden, unexplained heart-failure amongst young, healthy people is rare but real. We’re left grasping on the fallacious end of random likelihood.”
The family said they’re grateful for the “outpouring of affection” they’ve received over the past few months.
“We’ve cried again over each of your letters, messages, meals, and flowers, but they’re appreciated. We’re also grateful for the donations to the Downers Grove North Friends of Wonderful Arts and March for Our Lives, causes that Gwen was actively engaged in during highschool. It’s a comfort to know the way many lives Gwen touched over her 17 years,” the family wrote.
They recalled Gwen as having an enormous, beautiful, kind, loving heart.
“None of us know when our last heartbeat will come,” the family wrote. “The most effective we will hope for is that when our family members do pass, we may have no regrets concerning the time we were lucky enough to share.”
“So hug the oldsters you like slightly harder today,” they continued. “Be present of their lives. And spread your love slightly farther. Because ultimately, it’s all that continues to be.”