Aydin Salek – tragedy strikes again

I am deeply saddened to hear of yet another young person dying from alcohol. My parents can relate to Aydin’s – both sons had such promising futures and this abrupt end is…well…devastating. 18-year-old Aydin Salek had it all going on. He was the student representative on the board of trustees for his 4,000-student school district, a well-liked student leader, president of The American Cancer Society on campus, and a writer for the South Pasadena High newspaper, just to name a few accomplishments.

My brother and Aydin had a lot in common, both in life and death. It sounds like Aydin’s friends were pretty scared to get him the help he needed on Saturday night after they realized he wasn’t breathing. Instead of calling 911 right away, they left the party and took him to another 18-year-old’s home, knowing that this person could administer CPR. What Aydin really needed was a hospital with trained doctors.

My brother’s friends made similar mistakes the night Joey died, as so many young people do. They don’t know what to do, and once you add fear and alcohol into the mix, you’re left with a big mess. Aydin’s friends will have to live with this guilt for the rest of their lives. I hope they learn from this mistake and find a way to spread the word so that other young people don’t make the same mistake. We never think that we will find ourselves in this type of situation, but when we do (and many of us do), we need to take action and do the right thing. We need to save our friend’s life. We need to call 911.