Bill In Memory Of Waukesha Student Kai Lermer Moving To Caucus

WAUKESHA, WI—A bill in memory of a teen athlete who died in 2019 from a rare heart condition passed the Senate Education Committee on Thursday with a vote of 4-1 and will be moving to caucus over the next two weeks. Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) voted against the bill.

Patch reached out to Sen. Nass on Tuesday but haven't heard back as of Tuesday afternoon.

"We once again need your help to get the support of Senator Chris Kapenga. We are asking everyone from Waukesha and Pewaukee to contact Sen. Kapenga at 608- 266-9174 or eamil Sen.Kapenga@legis.Wisconsin.gov," the Lermer family said.

Mike Lermer said the bill will help prevent another child's death under similar circumstances.

Mike's son Kai Lermer was a triathlete at Waukesha North High School who died unexpectedly at the age of 16 of an undiagnosed condition that led to sudden cardiac arrest. After his death, his father, Mike Lermer, lobbied the Wisconsin Legislature to introduce a bill to prevent any future high school athletes from dying in the same way.

"If this becomes a law, we can save countless lives in the coming years and prevent this tragedy from impacting another family," Mike Lermer said in a statement.

The bill, LRB-0651 (The Kai 11 Bill), was introduced in the Wisconsin State Assembly in January.
Rep. Scott Allen (R) of Waukesha and Senator Alberta Darling (R) of River Hills are currently circulating legislation for co-sponsorship known as "The Kai Lermer Bill".

The bill is simple: Parents of student athletes will receive information on the risks of sudden cardiac arrest, and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association will offer parents the option of letting their child receive an electrocardiogram test to uncover any unknown heart conditions prior to being approved to play a sport.

Kai Lermer went through a standard physical every year before playing sports and showed none of the signs of cardiac disease.

He had just finished basketball season and was starting track, so he was in peak condition. Kai was enjoying his first day of spring break in March 2019 and had been playing basketball when he went into cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the hospital and died April 3.

His parents didn't know that Kai had a cardiac condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare illness that causes rapid heart beat. It could have been discovered with a simple EKG test.

The family wanted to give back, so they started the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund in association with the Waukesha County Community Foundation to support the awareness, detection and prevention of heart disease in children, teenagers and young adults.

To date, the fund has trained more than 200 people in CPR and placed 14 automated external defibrillators in the city of Waukesha. The fund also funds the improvement of the Waukesha North athletics program and the Waukesha parks and recreation system and offers scholarships.

Visit legis.wisconsin.gov to find your local State Representative. People can find out more about the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund by visiting the Facebook page. To learn more about EKG testing, visit Heart Smart and Parent Heart Watch.