A teenager has died after collapsing at her high school graduation.
Sienna Stewart, 18, was attending her graduation at Hiram High School in Georgia when she fell unconscious during the ceremony.
Following the incident, Sienna regained consciousness and asked her mom to let her walk along the stage.
In photos, she can be seen smiling and shaking the hand of one of the school officials.
But tragically, just weeks on from the event and Sienna’s mom, Saevon Chum, confirmed that her daughter had passed away after a second collapse.
Teen dies after collapsing at graduation
Saevon explained that her daughter was diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy at the age of four.
Sienna had been able to get a heart transplant when she was eight, but in April this year, she was diagnosed with heart failure.
„Her heart transplant heart was getting sick. It was getting weak and slowing down,” said Saevon, explaining this had led to her daughter falling unwell at the ceremony.
„When I got there, the ambulance was already there. She had collapsed. She had had another episode.
„But this was the first time she collapsed unconscious.”
Sienna Stewart asked her mom if she could walk on stage (FOX5)
Saevon explained that her daughter had begged her to let her walk along the stage despite having suffered the collapse just moments earlier.
„All she could tell me is, ‘I just want to graduate, I want to walk.’ That’s all she wanted, because she already missed her prom, because before then she was in the hospital and missed her senior prom,” the heartbroken mom explained.
Tragically, just two weeks later and Sienna collapsed again.
„You’re just holding your daughter, your child, and you have to do that 911 call not knowing if your daughter’s going to wake up or not,” said Saevon.
A few days later and Sienna sadly passed away in hospital.
„They asked if I’d known that she’d had a sick heart for a while. I say ‘yes,’ but you know, you’re never going to be ready to lose your child,” the mom continued.
„As a mom, you feel so proud because she just fought through something that hurts her. You have to be proud. Till the end, I was proud.”
Sienna was determined to graduate (FOX5)
A GoFundMe has since been set up to help Sienna’s family following their loss. It has so far raised over $10,000.
The GoFundMe explains: „On June 12, 2024 we lost our babygirl Sienna Chum Stewart.
„Sienna who had just turned 18 just a couple weeks prior was a vibrant young woman who fought hard and daily for the last 18 years nonstop.
„If you knew anything about SiSi her laughs were contagious, her smile was always on display and her energy was unmatched. She was truly 1/1. (inside joke for her friends).”
Sienna’s mom explained her daughter had passed away a couple of weeks after the ceremony (FOX5)
The page continues: „She was a bright light with a bubbly personality that could lift anyones spirits.
„Her kindness and warmth touched everyone who knew her and her story would inspire those who didn’t. Sienna had just graduated from Hiram High in May, planning to attend college in the Fall.
„Sisi leaves behind her two older siblings & mommy.”Featured Image Credit: Hiram High School/YouTube
A high school teacher in Missouri has been suspended after officials discovered her OnlyFans account.
English teacher Brianna Coppage, 28, has since said that she knew the risks of setting up an OnlyFans profile.
Coppage said that she started the account as a way to support her household in addition to her salary as a teacher.
She explained that on average her OnlyFans would bring in around $8,000 to $10,000 per month. This was on top of her annual teacher’s salary of about $42,000.
Coppage had been teaching at St Clair High School in Franklin County for two years, and said that she had been expecting to be discovered eventually.
St. Clair R-XIII School District
The Missouri teacher told the St Louis Post-Dispatch: “It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered.
“Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming.”
Coppage said that she chose OnlyFans as a platform to post her content as she believed that it would offer a degree of protection, as users must subscribe with a credit card to view content.
She believes that a recent video in which she and her husband collaborated with two popular performers in St Louis may have been the source of her discovery.
The 28-year-old claimed she had a meeting with two school administrators and was confronted about posting ‘inappropriate media on one or more internet sites’.
Coppage said: “There is this expectation that teachers should be the moral leaders of students, and I do not disagree with that.
“I taught the curriculum. I taught students reading and writing, and I didn’t guide them on my thoughts or beliefs. … And I can’t control what people think of me.”
She added that she doesn’t regret her decision to join the platform.
Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“I’m very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking. I am sad about that. I do miss my students,” Coppage said.
Coppage was clear that her online persona is entirely separate from her work, and that she never made any content on school grounds.
Superintendent Kyle Kruse said that the school had hired legal counsel to investigate if the content Coppage shared impacted her employment at the school.
He said: “Actions taken as a result of the investigation will be in accordance with board policy and with guidance from legal counsel.”
For her part, Coppage insists that her posts were not illegal, and that she doesn’t think that ‘sex work has to be shameful’ but ‘does wish things just happened in a different way’.
UNILAD has contacted St Clair High School for comment.