That day, when 19-year-old Nicolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland (FL), Sydney Aiello survived. However, she is very upset by this tragedy. Apparently, she did not cope with such psychological burden: this weekend, 19-year-old girl committed suicide.
Sidney’s mother, Kara Aiello, told CBS Miami that her daughter struggled with survivor guilt and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. After the incident, she, according to her mother, never asked for help, but was afraid to go to class. Sydney loved yoga and wanted to dedicate his life to help others.
«Sidney wanted to work in the medical field, helping others in need. March 17, 2019 Sydney became a guardian angel for many. For me it was a great honor to be with you. Sidney, we will miss you and will always love you» — said on the GoFundMe page created to raise funds for the funeral of the deceased. For 2 days it collected $24 million — more goals.
Sidney was also a close friend meadow Pollack, one of the students who died in the shooting. Father meadow, Andrew Pollack, said an emotional speech at the White house a few days after the tragedy, speaking for improving safety in school.
According to mother, she hopes her daughter’s story will help save others. Ryan petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed during a shooting in Parkland, told CBS Miami that after the incident, he had concentrated all his efforts on the prevention of suicide among survivors.
«My heart is broken because we lost another student from Stoneman Douglas, said Ryan petty. My advice to parents is to ask questions and not to wait.»
Cindy Arenberg Seltzer, President and CEO of the Council on the protection of children of Broward County, said that there are many public resources such as the hotline 211 and a new program called «Eagles’ Haven», which may apply to teenagers or their parents.
According to the official, the parents need to follow up on worrying signs from their children, for example, if they cause harm to themselves or cease to participate in important events.
«Parents should be more active when you see these signs, and not just wait until the child ask for help,» said Zeltser.
