COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBS/WBNS) Rico Butler, a Hilliard Davidson High School student and star athlete, drowned Tuesday night while swimming in a Columbus, Ohio quarry. Police recovered the 17-year-old’s body from a quarry near Dublin and Trabue roads shortly before noon, according to CBS affiliate WBNS. Butler was swimming with several...

An autopsy cannot show SIDS.  An autopsy can only rule out other things.  This is irresponsible reporting, or worse, an irresponsible finding. A report from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s office says that 9-month-old Ryder Brown died of “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” commonly known as SIDS. The child was found...

On May 2, the Ambler Theater was transformed into a family celebration.  Kids laughed at the Great Holtzie, danced to Alex and the Kaleidoscope Band and were mesmerized by Michael Bonacci’s magic.  We even spotted a few parents hiding out in the theaters watching classic Looney Toons and Sports Bloopers. Fun was...

For five years, all of the celebrations in my life have been played against the backdrop of tragedy.   That doesn’t mean that all of the celebrations have been bad.  It just means that every celebration is somehow dampened by the loss of Simon. Today, was an exception.  Today, I saw the other side of life.  I left my...

Sudden Cardiac Arrest syndrome (SCA) is poorly understood, but it’s a real danger for the otherwise young and healthy. For no apparent reason, the heart suddenly stops beating, and without treatment death may follow within minutes. It’s why some athletes drop dead on the track and why a young man,...

  Yarzheit [yar-tzhight] is the Jewish practice of remembering the death of a loved one.  It is based on the Jewish calendar.  In our secular society, this anniverary takes a back seat to the “real” annivesary of Simon’s death, January 24, 2005.  Most people, have no idea that there is this other anniversary, the 15th day...

I’ve been to so many conferences.  They ranged in content from bankruptcy law to social marketing to small businesses.  At these conferences, I get the opportunity to meet lots of different people.  Most of the discussion occurs around the breakfast or lunch table.  Typically, they are strangers when we randomly sit down together, and...

When I was a little boy, I remember watching the show, That’s Incredible.  It featured all kinds of unbelieveable or freakish things.  I has very low expectations about the show’s credibility.  I just wanted to be entertained. Today, I am attending the Parent Heart Watch conference.  I sitting with about 30 other families that have...

Last night, our Board got together to reflect on the last five years.  We also started to look ahead at the next five.  I want to share a realization that I had . . . Simon’s Fund was born out of our tragedy.  Simon would not be here anymore.  However, just...

There are so many things that I encounter in life that are easier because of the actions that others took before me.  I’ll never say that losing a son was easy, or made easier, by anyone’s conduct, but it is clear that the mission of Simon’s Fund was forged decades...