Heath Eiland

One of my students who skated his way to heaven

May 11, 2011 Heath Eiland passed away.  He was only 16 years old and just the sweetest kid you ever met.  Heath was one of my students in my robotics class who loved skateboarding like me.  We skated a few times together at the Round Rock skatepark.  I felt priviledged to be the old man still skating with all the young dudes, re-learning all my old tricks and watching them attempt new tricks for the first time.  Heath went skating yesterday and never made it home.  Falling from a half pipe drainage ditch 25 feet, I don't think even a helmet would've saved him, either way the kid would've been hurt bad.  Unfortunately he died.  Maybe with a helmet he would've lived broken up, but would've lived nonetheless.  I don't mean to sound callous, but skateboarding is just a rough sport and ramps are dangerous.  Helmets save lives people, they truly do, so if you're on a big ass ramp, remember what happened to Heath, he didn't make it home to do finish him homework, or have dinner, or check his facebook that night, or play soccer, or come to my robotics class the next morning...  None of those things happened because he passed away.  His parents are devastated, but have agreed to donate his organs to other children in need, and that's the right thing to do, that's what Heath would've wanted because he was just a mellow, easy going nice person, and he will never be forgotten.

http://www.kvue.com/news/Anderson-HS-student-on-life-support-after-skateboarding-fall-121668279.html