March recognized as SUDC Awareness Month in Massachusetts
Published in the Lowell Sun on March 29, 2024
State Rep. James Arciero of Westford recently welcomed Lynne Sallet of Westford and Kristen Dillon and her daughter Annaleigh Dillon of Chelmsford to the Massachusetts State House in recognition of March as SUDC Awareness Month.
SUDC, or sudden unexplained death in childhood, is an occurrence of death in children ages 1 through 18 for which a cause cannot be determined following a thorough investigation, including a detailed autopsy. Different from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, which occurs in babies less than a year old, most SUDC deaths happen between the ages of 1 and 4, but can happen even with teenagers.
This year, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed a House resolution to designate March as SUDC Awareness Month in Massachusetts. The resolution, sponsored by Arciero, was presented to his constituents at a meeting with Speaker Ronald Mariano of Quincy who also sponsored and supported the act.
“I was honored to sponsor this on behalf of my constituents and SUDC families across Massachusetts who have faced and have had to live with the [devastating] and tragic loss of a child to SUDC. To not know what caused the death of a child would be one of the most troubling events that could ever happen to a parent. They live without a concluding reason for this incredible loss, and I can only image that horror that these families face each and every day as they try to live their lives each day after such an unbelievable event,” said Arciero, who was a classmate of Sallet in the Westford Public Schools.
Prior to meeting with Mariano, Arciero and the families met with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and were presented with a governor’s proclamation also recognizing March as SUDC Awareness Month in the Commonwealth offered by Gov. Maura Healey and Driscoll.
“It meant so much to us to receive both the Proclamation and the Resolution from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We hope that today may be only the beginning of bringing increased awareness to the unimaginable losses of so many children in our Commonwealth to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC),” said Sallet, who lost a son to SUDC in 2012. “We look forward to partnering with Representative Arciero and other legislators, as well as, other SUDC affected families, in putting together a larger SUDC Awareness event at the Statehouse in March of 2025.”
To raise awareness and support at the local level, Lynne and her husband Peter have sponsored a Carve for Carson event in Westford each October to support the cause for the last 11 years in memory of her son Carson, who passed away at 17 months of age in his sleep.
“I echo all of Lynne’s sentiments. It meant so much to be able to advocate for our children and all of those lost to SUDC and their families. I’m deeply grateful for all Rep. Arciero and his District Director Anita Tonakarn-Nguyen for all they did to facilitate this and for Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Speaker Mariano for taking the time to speak with us. I wanted to bring my daughter Annaleigh to show her the importance of our efforts and that we can be brave in spite of our grief. I think this is an important first step in raising awareness and increasing advocacy efforts now and for future generations,” said Dillon, who lost her daughter Juniper to SUDC at the age of 2 in 2022.
“Thank you to Lynne, Kristen and all the SUDC families that have turned tragic family events into an opportunity to help others who have faced an SUDC death and aftermath of such a devastating occurrence. I look forward to working with you to advance the cause and raise awareness of SUDC and its impact on families in our state and nation,” concluded Arciero.
While considered a rare occurrence which only effects one in every 100,000 children, SUDC claims approximately 400 children a year in the United States.