Menachem Mendel Bolton, a 12-year-old student from Kfar Chabad, passed away today (Monday) at Tel Hashomer Hospital, after doctors fought for his life for several days.
Bolton suffered a cardiac event last week during a bar mitzvah celebration of a classmate.
According to the boy's father, the incident occurred after his son felt hurt by the behavior of other children at the event.
"Many people are inquiring about what happened to my son Mendy. What I know so far is that he was at a bar mitzvah of a child from his class. Children kind of boycotted him, not dancing with him. He felt hurt and went outside," he wrote in a post a few days ago.
"He sat on a bench crying and wouldn't listen to anyone trying to convince him to come back inside. He got up, walked on the grass towards the parking lot, and fell. It turns out he had a cardiac arrhythmia. It took some time until he was discovered and treatment began. They performed prolonged CPR and only when he was already in the ambulance did they manage to restore his pulse."
The father added, "He arrived at the intensive care unit at Tel Hashomer Sheba Medical Center, with an arrhythmia that they managed to overcome, but another one came in its place. The morning after hospitalization, they saw that his pupils were dilating and took him for a CT scan where they discovered brain edema."
"Currently, he is defined as in life-threatening condition. He is sedated and ventilated while receiving substances to stabilize his condition. The staff here is really taking care of him around the clock. People are asking what can be done, if you're interested, coordinate a visit, but mainly what we need now is a miracle."
Later, he shared that they added a name to him. "Yesterday we added the name Chaim to him. Please pray for the recovery of Menachem Mendel Chaim ben Devorah Zahava."
The management of the school where Bolton studied issued a statement last Friday expressing their sorrow over the incident and noting that the students and staff are praying for his recovery.
The management also emphasized that according to their investigation, there was no "class boycott" or violence at the event, but that someone unrelated to the class "spoke harshly to Mendy," causing him to leave the hall crying.
This morning, despite the doctors' efforts, and to the dismay of his family and friends, he passed away.