Sasha

Sasha’s mom Dawn sees signs of her little girl all around. Every morning a beautiful red cardinal comes to visit them, helping the family keep moving through their days. Sasha loved the character Stitch and even celebrated her 13th birthday with a big luau! Now her mother sees Stitch everywhere. As Dawn told us, “OHANA means family, and Sasha was all about family and love.” Sasha was an energetic girl who was always happy, with a smile that could light up a room. Filled with compassion, Sasha spent her days caring for others. When well-meaning friends and family would ask her how she was doing as she underwent chemo and radiation, she would turn the conversation around inquiring about them. With two brothers, Sasha spent a lot of time at the baseball field, and when you were looking for her, you could find her entertaining the younger children. Her mother described her as a “mother hen”; she loved little kids, and they loved her.

Sasha was also full of fun. She would send her friends and family sweet and funny emojis through the day to let them know she was thinking of them and to keep them smiling. She had a special bond with the campus police officer, and finding that they were both jokesters, they enjoyed telling each other jokes at lunch. She loved to draw and paint, pushing through pain and weakness to continue to create art. Some of her favorite days were spent at the beach, enjoying the waves and the sand, and Sasha loved to play golf. Family time was precious, and every year she looked forward to going to the Daddy-Daughter dance with her father, a special time for them both.

For this little girl who loved a good getaway, we fulfilled a dream of a Mommy-Daughter getaway. We sent them for an overnight at the Anatole…just the girls! They went the weekend before the school year started and made the most of the lazy river and enjoyed a good dinner in the restaurant. That night they took in the Dallas night sky from their hotel room in the tower, and snuggled and giggled together in bed, just enjoying precious time together. Dawn was so thankful that Project 4031 was able to help her carve out the time and provide the finances for this time that she and Sasha had always wanted to spend together.

Dawn told us that “Sasha taught us how to love…how to really love each other.” Over 400 people came to Sasha’s Celebration of Life, a beautiful day to remember a beautiful child. Sasha’s legacy of life, love, and compassion continues to live on in everyone who was blessed by the opportunity to know her.