EDMONDS - One minute he was alive and the next minute his heart stopped.

Heinok Belete was only 14 years old when he died from Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome. It's also known as SADS. It's when the heart's electrical system shuts down.

"I cried and I cried," says his father Belete.

Belete says if he had one wish, just one wish, "I would want to bring my son back!" he said.

Of course. It was Oct. 15 when Belete went to wake up his son for breakfast. His boy didn't wake up; Heinok had already taken his last breath. While he was asleep, the Edmonds-Woodway High School freshman died from SADS.

Belete is sharing his son's story with us today because of what's happening this weekend. The SADS Foundation is trying to raise $100,000 with a Mount Rainer climb that begins Friday. It's the Mount Rainier "Climb to Conquer SADS" event. Families from around the country are coming here to raise money and awareness for SADS.

Organizer Nancy Adams, who lost her son Jesse to SADS four years ago, is hoping more people learn about the symptoms which include fainting or seizure during excitement, family history of sudden unexplained death in the young, and consistent chest pain or shortness of breath during exercise.

SADS is what nearly took the life of UW Basketball star Kayla Burt. Her heart stopped too. But her teammates and medics were able to revive her. Belete's son wasn't as fortunate.

"My dream was for him to be a doctor, a scientist, an engineer, or astronaut, but it didn't happen," says Belite Grebe, holding back tears.

A life cut short by SADS. It's more common than you think. According to the SADS foundation Sudden Cardiac Death, SCD occurs in about 400,000 people in the U.S. every year, including in an estimated 1 in 200,000 otherwise healthy high school athletes.

For more information about SADS and the Mount Rainier "Climb to Conquer SADS" on June 23-25, you can visit www.sads.org or call 1-800-STOP-SAD (786-7723).