Lakota West lacrosse player dies weeks after collapse and hospitalization

The memorial is set for 8 p.m.

INITIAL POST:

Matt Stratman had a community rally around him after he was hospitalized following a collapse during a lacrosse match earlier this month.

He died Saturday morning, according to Lakota West. He was 15.

Stratman was diagnosed with an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), which involves bleeding in the brain, according to a GoFundMe page created to help the family defray medical costs. The online fundraiser has raised more than $31,800 from more than 400 people in the past 19 days.

Lakota Local Schools Superintendent Matt Miller on Saturday posted on his Facebook page a quote by Leo Tolstoy and the hashtag #StratmanStrong.

Stratman, a sophomore, was playing in a June 9 Lakota West alumni lacrosse game when he collapsed.

Teammates and coaches thought it was the heat that caused his collapse, but he was rushed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center when his conditioned worsened.

Stratman had been in a coma while at the hospital, according to the GoFundMe page.

Lakota spokesperson Betsy Fuller said the Lakota community is “deeply saddened by his loss.”

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family," she said.

The best things to do right now, besides prayer, “is to live the life lessons that Matt and his family taught us all,” said Julie Vonderhaar, the Fairfield Twp. administrator, whose daughter, Kathryn, was friends with Stratman.

Some of those lessons the Stratmans taught, Vonderhaar said, include grace and graciousness, love, fortitude and class.

Funeral arrangements will be announced via the Lakota West High School Twitter account, which uses the handle @FirebirdTweets.