Holmdel Family Raises Awareness Of SUDC After Toddler Girl Dies

HOLMDEL, NJ — A first-of-its-kind pop-up shop just opened this week inside Bell Works, selling handmade purses in memory of Vienna Carly Savino, a Holmdel little girl who died when she was nearly 3 years old, in a death classified as sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC).

What is SUDC? Nearly everyone in America today has heard of SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome. But SUDC is not a household name: It is a term used by medical examiners when they find no other reason to explain why a seemingly healthy child suddenly passes away. It is the label of death for an estimated 400 children every year in America, and that number may be even higher as some deaths are incorrectly classified or not reported.

The Holmdel couple, Dr. Denise Wunderler, 46, and her husband, Michael Savino, 47, say it's a struggle every day for their family to wake up without their third and youngest child. But they are excited about the pop-up shop, and they want the world to know who Vienna was.

"A healthy child goes to sleep and doesn't wake up. It defies all reason. How can this ever happen to anybody and how can this happen to us?" Denise told Patch. "But Vienna is always with us. And this is a way to get her story out to the world."

Nov. 12, 2017

There was nothing remarkable at all about the day. The Savino family had just moved to Holmdel in the summer of 2017, so they were still relatively new to the area. Denise and her husband were supposed to go to a wedding in South Jersey that afternoon, and so they called a babysitter, a local Holmdel girl they had used before, to watch their three children, 2-year-old Vienna, their 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter.

"Vienna had a low-grade fever that morning so I thought about staying home with her and having my oldest daughter go to the wedding with my husband," said Denise, who is herself a sports medicine physician. Her husband also works in the medical field. "But Vienna was in preschool and preschool kids get sick. It's what they do. Why would this day be any different?"

At 7:02 p.m. Denise's husband received a panicked call from the sitter: Vienna was unconscious on the living room floor. She had called 911 and paramedics were on their way.

"She said they were all in the living room watching TV just before 7 p.m. and Vienna appeared to be drowsy on the pillows, almost falling asleep. The babysitter asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to bed, and Vienna said no, she wanted to stay with her brother and sister," said Denise.

Minutes later, the toddler girl appeared to just fall asleep on the pillows. The oldest daughter remarked to the sitter, 'Wow, she looks really peaceful,' and the babysitter replied 'Yes, she does.'"

That's when the teenager checked on the girl. Vienna did not appear to be breathing or even conscious; she couldn't find a pulse. She called 911 immediately.

"Our son, daughter and the babysitter were sitting within ten feet of Vienna the entire time," said Denise. "It was like she just fell asleep."

The toddler was rushed to Bayshore Medical Center.

Denise was speeding up the Garden State Parkway while her husband stayed on the phone with the sitter and then EMTs.

"I was hearing words you never want to hear associated with your child: Intubation. Epinephrine, a drug that kickstarts the heart," recalled Denise. "At this point, hearing what my husband was saying, I knew this was a life-or-death situation for my child."

EMTs spent 45 minutes trying to revive Vienna, as did doctors and staff at Bayshore. The couple made it to the hospital. Vienna was pronounced dead at 8:05 p.m. that night at Bayshore.

A past history of febrile seizures

There was nothing medically unique or unusual about Vienna Savino, except for the fact that she had had four febrile seizures when she was a baby, her mother said. A febrile seizure occurs in babies and toddlers and it occurs when there is a rapid rise in body temperature.

Febrile seizures are not uncommon: They occur in about five percent of all babies and toddlers and they are regarded in the medical community as usually having no lasting effects (although research is still being done on their effect on the brain). A child who has a febrile seizure once is also more likely to have a seizure again, Denise explained.

Vienna had them when she was between 12 and 18 months old, and she once had two in one day, at 18 months. The family was still living in Kentucky then, so she was taken by ambulance to the ER that day and the hospital kept her overnight for observation. The next day, doctors sent the family home, saying the baby appeared fine.

However, Vienna was two months shy of her third birthday when she died. She hadn't had a seizure since she was 18 months old.

"Since then she's also had a ton of high fevers — no seizures," said her mother. "We were prepared if she ever had another seizure again. Her daycare had even been briefed on what to do. But it had been months. I even recall telling my husband I'm confident she will never have another one."

"Even the day she died, I don't think she had a seizure," Denise said. "There were three people sitting right next to her. They saw nothing unusual. It was like she peacefully just laid down on this pillow and fell asleep."

About one in four children whose deaths are classified as SUDC have a history of febrile seizures, according to published SUDC research. But researchers have still not pinpointed an exact connection between the two.

Family works with scientists and doctors to find an answer

Vienna's story is tragic. It's also shocking and frustrating. But similar childhood deaths have been reported. A healthy 2-year-old boy named Caleb died suddenly in Oklahoma. A 15-month-old girl in Australia went to sleep and never woke up. Her mother recalls her smiling in her crib and simply never awakening. The majority of SUDC deaths occur in toddlers, according to the SUDC Foundation. Most of the children die in their sleep. However, even some teen deaths are classified as SUDC, as it is the term used for every unexplained childhood death in those ages 1-18 after a thorough investigation, including an autopsy.

Vienna had a full autopsy and doctors could discover nothing wrong. Her heart appeared fine. She had no genetic abnormalities or undiagnosed infections. The Savino family donated her blood and organs to New York University Langone Medical Center, which is conducting a research study on SUDC, called the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative. The main mission of the study is to collect data on how often deaths like this occur, and then try to look for a pattern.

"We donated her brain and blood and tissues to NYU," said Denise. "I think it helps that my husband and I have medical backgrounds: I worked for Merck in Rahway before going to medical school, so I know how important it is to support the research and try to get some answers. It's the only way we'll make progress. To try and get answers for Vienna and other kids."

The NYU study has been underway for about three years now. But Denise said researchers there often tell her they lack funding.

"First it starts with awareness. People need to know that this does happen," she said. "Back in the '60s and '70s, you had babies that suddenly died, and everybody was wondering what was going on. Then they started collecting data and someone finally noticed a trend. And now everybody knows about SIDS."

"Nothing will bring back Vienna. It's a reality I still don't really accept," said her mother. "But I mean, we haven't seen her in 14 months. So I guess she's not coming back. You go to bed at night and think everything is OK. And then you wake up and think, Wow. She's still not here."

Stop by the pop-up shop at Bell Works this February and learn more about Vienna. The bags were designed by New Jersey-based designer Lauren Farrell. She heard Vienna's story and wanted to help. The Vienna Collection is the line of designer handbags in honor of Vienna. Denise and her older daughter helped design them and a portion of the sale proceeds will go to Team Vienna 4 SUDC Awareness, Inc., a non-profit the family founded to spread awareness and raise research funds.

"Vienna loved fashion, so this is so appropriate. She would change her outfit four times a day," said her mom. "The true essence of Vienna is in these bags: Hot pink was her favorite color and that's the lining of every single bag, and the big 'V' is on the outside. Every bag has a little tag with a 'V' on it with a halo, which is now how I sign her name."

Also, every Saturday in February (except Feb. 9) Farrell will host a pop-up fashion design workshop for Holmdel children to attend with their parents. It goes from 12-3 p.m. Parents are encouraged to bring their little ones for a “How to Fashion Design Workshop.” Learn more here: https://bell.works/events/laur...

Photos provided by the family. Learn more about Vienna Savino and SUDC and how you can donate to help find an answer here: www.TeamViennaSUDC.org