Sasha’s Voice
Here’s the lead:
Sasha Cumby’s mom, Debbie, says her daughter was a typical 16-year-old. But answering what made Sasha typical, her mom describes a young woman who was anything but an average teen: a straight ‘A’ student and advocate for animal rights, with career aspirations of becoming an environmental lawyer. A Girl Guide in Sparks, Brownies, and Pathfinders. A young woman who was both a deeply committed volunteer and a social activist, she had organized the collection of more than 400 teddy bears to send to children in Afghanistan. On top of her academic and community accomplishments, Sasha held a part-time job at Tim Hortons and babysat, not just her younger brother William (whom she called “her little brat”), but neighbours’ kids as well. People who know the six-foot-tall Sasha say she has an old soul.
In August 2009, Debbie and husband Bill took their kids on their very first family vacation: a trip to Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo and Universal Studios. Three days into their trip, sitting beside her boyfriend on the Indiana Jones rollercoaster, Sasha went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing. Strapped into the moving ride it was impossible to get Sasha out to perform CPR. First the family, then everyone else on the ride, were screaming to have it stopped. But it was several minutes before Sasha’s father could kick open her car and pull her out. By then, the devastating damage to Sasha’s brain had already been done.
Read the rest of Sasha’s Voice and the rest of the stories in the series.
