1 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: Inside a fellowship hall at a church in Petersburg, Virginia. 2 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: About fifty to a hundred people sit at long folding 3 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: tables eating lunch. The church serves a community meal every Wednesday. 4 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,920 Speaker 1: On this day, a teenager who volunteers at the church 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: is making her way around the table, saying hello to 6 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: the guests. I'll call her Naomi. Naomi's not her real name, 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: which she wanted to keep private. I just walk around 8 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: and shake hands the star small toe, you know. For myself. 9 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: I love the one people came in with children because 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: you know, I get to pull you with her and 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: what talks to things like that. She wants everyone to 12 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 1: feel welcome, regardless of the circumstances that brought them to 13 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: a meal at a church hall in the middle of 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: the week. It's the spring of two thousand thirteen, three 15 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: years before the incident at Camp Summit. Naomi is a 16 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: nineteen year old college student at Virginia State University. The 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: church is near campus. We talked about it, you know, Jesus, 18 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: you know, um asking everybody you know, if you know, 19 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 1: have a church home and things like that, not so 20 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: much to recruit them on sut of church because we 21 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: weren't member that the church. I say it was just 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: about and saying she especially loves being a part of 23 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: the church choir. She's at her happiest when she's singing. 24 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: It's as if music is her direct connection to Heaven, 25 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: we arning love. As she makes her way from person 26 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: to person, she spots a woman sitting by herself. Naomi 27 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: has never seen her before, and she's hard to miss. 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: This is a traditionally African American congregation. The visitor is 29 00:01:55,080 --> 00:02:03,560 Speaker 1: a white woman with short brown hair. She's wearing a 30 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: sun dress, no makeup, and she seems well, she seems 31 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,800 Speaker 1: like somebody he's having a bad day. She kind of 32 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: say it. She looked like she was out of it. 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: We were there to witness, we were there to help, 34 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: so you know, I took it upon myself to be 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 1: time to reach out. The absolute first words that she 36 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: said to me was giving me her name. She said 37 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: my name was Sarah. So that was the first thing 38 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: that she said to me. And she confides she's pregnant. 39 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: As Sarah eats her lunch, she tells Naomi that her 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,679 Speaker 1: boyfriend is emotionally abusive to her, claims the baby isn't his. 41 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: She says she's embarrassed to be in a church pregnant 42 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: and unmarried. So immediately, like I said, my right off 43 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,320 Speaker 1: went off, because so is it somebody who really needs help? 44 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,520 Speaker 1: This somebody really probably just needs somebody. Naomi is deeply religious, 45 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: and in that moment, she knows Sarah needs her. It's 46 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: why God brought them together. She was, you know, along 47 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: by herself, and I felt like, oh, I'm a helper. 48 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,519 Speaker 1: After the meal is done, they say goodbye and exchange numbers. 49 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: A couple of days later, Naomi sends a text, how 50 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: are you in the baby doing? Sarah answers it was 51 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: super long. All her messages were always long. She could 52 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: never send on one liner. It was always parag long, 53 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: long paragrams in visceral detail. Sarah tells Naomi that she's 54 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: having morning sickness and that her boyfriend isn't being supportive. 55 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: Naomi feels for her. As the weeks passed, Naomi says 56 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: she loves babies and that she herself has been adopted, 57 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: and Sarah says, hey, I'm adopted too. They start to 58 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: exchange texts every day. All day. I would always wake 59 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: up two messages from her. No, you know whatever, time. 60 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: It was even if I slept to seven, I wouldever, 61 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: you know, if I sleep seven and eight, wake up 62 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: is a message. It started coming in like four o'clock 63 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: or something. So from then she protects me first, and 64 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: it was always um about the baby, about you know 65 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: how her night was, you know, things of their nature. 66 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: Several times when I'll be going about my day as 67 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: a student and if I take too long to text her, 68 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: I would get like messages. They meet up a couple 69 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: of times a week. She begins to reveal more to 70 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: Naomi about her life, and it's weighty stuff for a 71 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: college student to take in. Sarah says that she had 72 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: been raised in foster care that should run away and 73 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 1: been hauled back every time, even raped. She was never 74 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: interested in my life story. So at a certain point 75 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: it was like I just shut up because her life 76 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 1: stuck way more than mine. So let me just help her. 77 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: You know, everything she went through was a hundred a 78 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: million percent worse. I'm a Christian. I told her so 79 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: many times I don't have enough changes, and so see 80 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: how how many times I told her that she can 81 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: be sure God knows her name. As Sarah and Naomi's 82 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: friendship deepens. She starts getting texts from Mason, the a friend. 83 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: She portrayed him as a jerk, but he would text 84 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: me and be like it was almost like he was 85 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:06,679 Speaker 1: the sweetest do ever. So I didn't know what to believe. 86 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: So it was real confusing. That July, Naomi takes Sarah 87 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,359 Speaker 1: out to dinner for her birthday, to a seafood restaurant. 88 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: It's a stretch for her student budget, but she wants 89 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: her new friend to feel special. But even before they order, 90 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: Sarah says she's feeling nauseated at the smell of the 91 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: fish and races to the women's room. She owys in 92 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: the bedroom to the last all the big one, and 93 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: immediately like you also weren't even she's jagging and it's 94 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: totally hugging and totally and I'm confided her the best 95 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: I can, because I mean it was horrible and you know, 96 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,840 Speaker 1: she's all read and she's struggling. They leave without eating, 97 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: but it's just as well since it wasn't Sarah's birthday anyway. 98 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: She was actually born in December. A month later, in 99 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: a barrage of rapid fire texts, Sarah tells Naomi that 100 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: she's miscarried. She had been trying to reach Naomi the 101 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: whole time she was in the stress, but Naomi was 102 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: away from her phone. I feel horrible because the way 103 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: that she has portrayed herself to be and somebody who 104 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: has nobody, her baby father, Mason, is a piece of trash. 105 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: She has abandonment issues and emotional issues. So here's somebody 106 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: who has nobody's never had anybody, and she miscarried and 107 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: I wasn't there for her. I'm like the only friend 108 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: that I knew of in the world who was just like, 109 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: really really there for She never had a mom, so 110 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: she had the opportunity to be a mother, but she 111 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: lost it. So I cried for all that I forgot 112 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: crossfall those reasons because I know how much you mean 113 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: tour Um. Not having a mother, wanted to be a 114 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: mother meant a lot to her. So I cried to that. 115 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 1: I cried because I wasn't there for he, and I 116 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,359 Speaker 1: just my heart went out to work. I just I 117 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:44,040 Speaker 1: was devastated. In September of two thousand thirteen, the brother 118 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,000 Speaker 1: of one of Naomi's good friends is killed. Her friend 119 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: asked Naomi to sing at the funeral, but the day 120 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,520 Speaker 1: of the service, Sarah is having a meltdown something about Mason. 121 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: She sits in Naomi's car sobbing. Nao Me misses the funeral. 122 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: Sarah is soon expecting again. She seems to relish the 123 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: role of a pregnant person in trouble. The second pregnancy 124 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: appears just a month later, but Naomi's young and doesn't 125 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: think twice about it. Sarah proudly shows her the ultrasound, 126 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: She rubs her belly and talks to the baby. Naomi 127 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: vows to be there for her this time. She absolutely 128 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: loved being pregnant. The attention she got from me was 129 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: top not It's as if Naomi has to constantly show 130 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: Sarah what a good friend she is. From crisis to crisis, 131 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: My life revolved around her, like for you every day 132 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: from the moment I woke up. I'll put it that way, 133 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: because of course, when I was sleep I can't answer, 134 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,280 Speaker 1: but when a moment I woke up, it was um. 135 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: To be Sarah's friend is to be overwhelmed with one 136 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: emotionally draining situation after or another, no time to really 137 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: stop and reflect on her unbelievable space of bad luck. 138 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: A few months later, in January of two thousand fourteen, 139 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: Naomi gets a text from Sarah saying that she's gone 140 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: to the bathroom and seen a lot of blood. Naomi panics, Yeah, 141 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: I was scared because, like I said, I didn't want it. 142 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: I didn't want it to mister. I didn't want it 143 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: to be nothing like that, because like I said, I 144 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: saw it to go through the first time, and then 145 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: she also played the whole Mason blames her so the 146 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: baby being you know, she claimed he used to call 147 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: her murderer. Sarah tells Naomi that she's going to the 148 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: hospital and then one word messages pop up on Naomi's phone, 149 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:47,800 Speaker 1: scared blood. She tells Naomi that she's on her way 150 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: to Southside Hospital. Naomi and another friend jump in her 151 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: car and dashed to meet Sarah there, but when they 152 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,679 Speaker 1: get to the e R, the front desk says that 153 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: no one has come in with a possible miscarriage. She 154 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: spells Sarah's last name for the guy behind the desk, 155 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: the lashman, and watches as he types it into the system. 156 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: He looks up nothing. Naomi is confused. She sents Sarah 157 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: a text Southside Hospital with a question mark minutes passed 158 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: and Sarah does not respond. The silence is deafening, and 159 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,319 Speaker 1: then it just that's when it just hit me, waitness, 160 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: she's nothing to me. That's like that had to be 161 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: the only huge that may have been a moment that 162 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 1: you know, God decided to show me because it nothing 163 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: else may say. I think it was just meant for 164 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: me to know right there in that moment, for whatever 165 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: reason me doing that, it was just it was just 166 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: meant for me to know the end that she was 167 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: lying to me. Naomi asks her why she lied about 168 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: going to the hospital. I never heard from R again. 169 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: I promised you I ain't hear nothing else. She said nothing. 170 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: It's when I asked her why she died, she said 171 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: nothing else. Naomi gradually realizes that nothing Sarah told her 172 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: had been real for years. She tries to process what happened, 173 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,199 Speaker 1: how her emotions had been toyed with, how she missed 174 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: a funeral for someone she cared about over a lie. 175 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,440 Speaker 1: How could she believed all of it, all of Sarah's 176 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: stories for so long. She was finally starting to put 177 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: the ordeal out of her mind, until the day she 178 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: learned that she was not the only one and all 179 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: the feelings of betrayal came rushing back, and I was 180 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: also like, Okay, so the other people here who you know? 181 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: She made them feel like she made them feel like 182 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: she made me feel And I just I didn't get it. 183 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: I didn't understand, like, how one person, how one what? 184 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: What did she get out of it? I realized it 185 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,200 Speaker 1: was a whole bunch of other people. I was like, WHOA, 186 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: She'd been busy. A year and a half after Sarah 187 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: vanished from nay Amy's life, she turned up at Camp Summit, 188 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: the place she meant Bethany. But Bethany and the other 189 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 1: camp staff weren't the only one shocked. The day that 190 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 1: Sarah rose from her wheelchair and disappeared, there was one 191 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: more person, and her life was about to be turned 192 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:25,199 Speaker 1: upside down. I'm Laura Belle. You're listening to Sympathy Pains. 193 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: This is episode two. Aaron. In two thousand five, a 194 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: full decade before Sarah arrived as a camper at Camp Summit, 195 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:45,000 Speaker 1: she volunteered to be a counselor at a similar place 196 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: in southern California, a summer camp where people with disabilities 197 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: could fully enjoy the outdoors. At the time, she was 198 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: a junior in college. One of the campers that year 199 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: was named Aaron Johnson. At twenty three, Aaron and Sarah 200 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,760 Speaker 1: were close to the same age. Aaron was born three 201 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: months premature, weighing just two pounds. She has cerebral palsy, 202 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:17,000 Speaker 1: which affects her ability to speak and move. Good says 203 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: that I had only me worse today. Aaron gets around 204 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,120 Speaker 1: with a wheelchair and lives in a boarding care home 205 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: in southern California. She talks warmly about her childhood surrounded 206 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 1: by great friends and parents who doated on her. I 207 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: is very outgoing, compassionate about a lot. I've been told 208 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: they'm very giving and very loving on Sundays. I'm not 209 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: so sure that people who always tell me that's what 210 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: I and I love psychology and dying two people and 211 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: how they work. She first went to camp in two 212 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: thousand four. She was a little scared at first, but 213 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: the anxiety soon evaporated. The camp is about an hour 214 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: and a half from Los Angeles in the San Bernardino 215 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:09,760 Speaker 1: National Forest, with towering trees and panoramic views of the mountains. 216 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: A camper people with disabilities. It's very inclusive because out 217 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: in the real world, like like a videos. Aaron tells 218 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: me that it camps like this, a bond forms between 219 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: counselor and camper that other people might not fully understand. 220 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,679 Speaker 1: There's a deep trust that comes from someone else tending 221 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 1: to those things you need daily. If you disabled, people 222 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: that take care of you, and they take care of 223 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: you well, and they genuinely treat you like they care 224 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 1: about you other than physically caring for you, you tend 225 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,959 Speaker 1: to really admire them very quickly, because you can be 226 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: in situations where there are people who maybe don't take 227 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: care of you the best. The camp was free being. 228 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: Aaron really loved feeding and grooming the horses. The second 229 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: year she went to camp, in two thousand five, she 230 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: meant a new counselor named Sarah. Do you remember your 231 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:17,439 Speaker 1: first meeting? Oh, yeah, very well. She's very very quiet. 232 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: It took her about ever the first saying on her 233 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: I thought she's good to me because she was very quiet, 234 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: very like drawn day shy. She talked about her family, 235 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:35,560 Speaker 1: saying that both her parents were doctors. Aaron remembers one 236 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:40,640 Speaker 1: thing that really stood out Sarah's eyes, the bluest eyes. 237 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,120 Speaker 1: One evening, a couple of days into camp, it was 238 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: casino night. Aaron was in the recreation hall. She felt 239 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 1: awkward because she couldn't manage the games by herself. Seeing 240 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 1: Aaron looking uncomfortable, a staff member asked if she needed help. 241 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,400 Speaker 1: She said, Sarah over Aaron and Sarah hid it off 242 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: right away. She wanted to go in all my antivities 243 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: with me. When I couldn't sleep in the middle of 244 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,080 Speaker 1: the night, I was with her, which she couldn't sleeve. 245 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 1: She came to me. We always walked back to the 246 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: cabinet after meals together. People used to joke that escessially 247 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: that first year, that wish she was I was, and 248 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: vice versa, like if you could find one of us, 249 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: you found the other one. When the counselors took breaks, 250 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: Sarah would come find Aaron. When it came time for 251 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: Aaron to wash her hair, Sarah instantly volunteered. When Aaron 252 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: would change from her wheelchair to the bed, Sarah would 253 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: be by her side. They had a connection. They did 254 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: fun things like play sports. No quite a few people 255 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: that's show have pretty decent relation to the people that 256 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: have been their counselors in the hat vice for so 257 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: with the campers, especially if the campers are fully mentally 258 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,600 Speaker 1: aware and everything like that. It can be very bonding 259 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: and kind of just brings you together and kind of 260 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: just forms of friendship that tends to stay, if not 261 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: for the rest of her life, for a room all time. 262 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: At the end of the week, it came time to 263 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: say goodbye. Sarah walked with Aaron to the parking lot 264 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: where her parents were waiting by the car. It was 265 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: very hard for us emotionally to leave. She was crying. 266 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:46,000 Speaker 1: Aaron introduced Sarah to her parents, rolled back closer and 267 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,320 Speaker 1: I said, Mom, this is Sarah. Can we keep her? 268 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 1: And my mom kind of get Golden said sure. They 269 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: did keep Sarah in their hearts, if not their home. 270 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,600 Speaker 1: The French a blasted another ten plus years, and Aaron 271 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: got way more than she ever imagined. After their tearful 272 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 1: departure in the parking lot, Aaron went home. When she 273 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,560 Speaker 1: opened up her bags to unpack, she found a surprise. 274 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,680 Speaker 1: Aaron had told Sarah that the combination of peanut butter 275 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: and chocolate was her favorite candy, but Sarah had told 276 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: Aaron that she had a severe peanut allergy and couldn't 277 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 1: get near anything like that throughout my suit. In my 278 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,720 Speaker 1: purse in my bag, the peanut butter white up lady 279 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:41,159 Speaker 1: said a regularly. She thought, wow, Sarah risked anaphylactic shock 280 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: just to make her happy. The camp was within driving 281 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,760 Speaker 1: distance of Aaron's house, so she went to see Sarah occasionally, 282 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: each time with an emotional parting. Until Sarah had to 283 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 1: return to college in Illinois. Aaron learned more about Sarah's life, 284 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: and it was interesting. Did she tell you anything about 285 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: her childhood? She had said that she had been playing 286 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: boarding school when she was staying because her parents wanted 287 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Speaker 1: her to be a competitive skier, an Olympic skier. In fact, 288 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:25,160 Speaker 1: her Olympic career was supposedly stopped, so she was going 289 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: to be on the Olympic ski team. But then she 290 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: got ebola. Yes, that was Sarah's first big lie to Aaron, 291 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,680 Speaker 1: after a series of smaller embellishments about her childhood. It 292 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: was in September of two thousand five. Sarah had just 293 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: returned to college. One day, she sent Aaron a message 294 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: saying that she felt nauseated and had a high fever. 295 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: She was heading to the doctor. Once she got there, 296 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: she was immediately admitted for an infection with the abola virus. Well, 297 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 1: I would imagine it was kind of shocking on your end. 298 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: Supposedly there was this outbreaking St. Louis because of these 299 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,640 Speaker 1: monkeys they had they sected it at school, and Sarah's 300 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: telling she was working at a lab dissecting monkeys infected 301 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: with ebola and somehow she got infected. This was before 302 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:25,200 Speaker 1: the sweeping outbreaks in Africa dominated headlines. Aaron had never 303 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: heard of ebola and really didn't think to google it. 304 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: She just knew it sounded horrible. Besides, she loved Sarah 305 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: and thought Sarah loved her, so she wasn't preoccupied with skepticism, 306 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:42,359 Speaker 1: just worry. And then Sarah told her that she wouldn't 307 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: be able to contact her for a while because the 308 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: doctors were putting her into a coma so her body 309 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,880 Speaker 1: could better battle the infection. But Aaron kept getting updates 310 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: about Sarah's condition from Sarah's little sister, Gabby. Her kid's 311 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: sister also happened to be disabled. She used to wheelchair 312 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: because she had a rare inherited neuromuscular condition called spinal 313 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: muscular atrophy or s M. A. Gabby sent messages to 314 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: Aaron saying that Sarah was still unconscious in the hospital. 315 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: They spoke on the phone, having conversations about how worried 316 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: they were. This went on for five weeks, and then 317 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,840 Speaker 1: what happens at the end of that five weeks the 318 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: week Sarah, I've had the coma and Sarah has lost 319 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: a good amount ror hearing because of the boy. She 320 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,640 Speaker 1: was talking to Gabby one day and Gabby suddenly got 321 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 1: another call and she goes out, it's Sarah. Do you 322 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: wanna Gabby asked if Aaron wanted a three way call 323 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: so they could all talk. Aaron was thrilled. She hadn't 324 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: spoken to Sarah since she had woken up from the coma. 325 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: So Aaron was on a call thinking that she was 326 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: speaking to both Sarah and her sister Gabby, but of 327 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: course Sarah and Gabby were one and the same. That's amazing. 328 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: So she pulled off a conversation where she's herself and 329 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 1: another person in the same conversation. It's not the only 330 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: time that takes a lot of discipline. In January of 331 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: two thousand and six, in Aaron's world, Sarah was out 332 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 1: of the coma, but she had complications from ebola. Not 333 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: only was her hearing damaged, she now used a wheelchair 334 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: because of the neurological complications from the infection. She told 335 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,119 Speaker 1: Aaron it was Gian Beret syndrome, an autoimmune reaction that 336 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:57,520 Speaker 1: actually can follow a viral infection, although it's rare. And 337 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: then tragedy struck, Sarah told Aaron that Gabby had died 338 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: of pneumonia. To Aaron, Gabby was real. She texted with her, 339 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: talked to her, felt close to her because they both 340 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: faced the challenges of an inaccessible world as wheelchair users. 341 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: With Aaron's big, bottomless heart, she loved Gabby. She was 342 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,920 Speaker 1: her best friend's little sister. It was very hard. It 343 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 1: felt like I actually lost someone that was a member 344 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: of my family. And she played the part very very 345 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: well on the grieving big sister. She played it so well. 346 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 1: Sarah said that she was having a hard time getting 347 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: over Gabby's death. So in March of two thousand and six, 348 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: Sarah came to Aaron's house for spring break. Sir, he 349 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: came to a house under the pretense that she could 350 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:58,600 Speaker 1: not deal with her little sisters death unless she saw me, 351 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,360 Speaker 1: because I was in person understand how much that she 352 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: loved her sister, and she knew that her sister like 353 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: that too. Sarah was good at that. You're the only 354 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: one who really understands. Sarah arrived at Aaron's house using 355 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 1: a wheelchair. They talked and hung out while Aaron's parents 356 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,400 Speaker 1: tried to spoil them to make them feel better. They 357 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: grieved over Gabby. Aaron's grief was genuine. Sometime after springbreak, 358 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,920 Speaker 1: Sarah told Aaron that she had recovered from her ebola complications. 359 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 1: After all she had gone through, she could walk again, 360 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,399 Speaker 1: and she wanted to return to the camp as a counselor. 361 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: So a year after they first met, Aaron and Sarah 362 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: were back together again. At the camp. Everyone knew like 363 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:56,160 Speaker 1: Sarah and I were insipable, so they put us together. 364 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,640 Speaker 1: The two of them had another great summer and returned 365 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: to Illinois for her senior year of college. But soon 366 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:09,119 Speaker 1: after going back, Sarah had news she was pregnant. Aaron 367 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,880 Speaker 1: didn't know it then, but it would be the first 368 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 1: of many. None of Sarah's pregnancies were ever no. Sarah 369 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: told Aaron that she had briefly dated a guy who 370 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: was a friend of Gabby's. He was out of the picture, 371 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: but Sarah was pregnant with twins. One of the twins died, 372 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 1: but the surviving baby had a heart condition, so he 373 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 1: had surgery in utero and was born premature that spring. 374 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: His name was Noah. Sarah said that she wanted Aaron 375 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: to be his godmother. He ended up being okay, answer 376 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 1: rising that at least she brought him home. He grew. 377 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 1: He needed a couple of years go by. Sarah sends 378 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: her snapshots as he's growing up. He's in struggling health, 379 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: and eventually Sarah tells Aaron that he's going to need 380 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: a heart transplant. Aaron worries about him deeply. This is 381 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: her godson, after all, she refers to him as her nephew, 382 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: and he had a heart transplant. One day in two 383 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,359 Speaker 1: thousand eight, Aaron was on the phone with a friend 384 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: and Sarah tried to call. Aaron didn't answer, figuring that 385 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,440 Speaker 1: she would call Sarah back later, and then the frantic 386 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 1: texts began. Noah was sick. She was rushing him to 387 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: the hospital. Aaron immediately called back, stricken with worry. Sarah 388 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: told her that he was rejecting his new heart. He 389 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:41,919 Speaker 1: was tethered to machines and then he died. Once again. 390 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: Aaron had to mourn someone she loved, and she even thought, 391 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 1: why does this keep happening? After that, for the rest 392 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: of their friendship, there was not a time that Sarah 393 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: was not the mother of several young children or pregnant. 394 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: It was always multiples. And then my had I question that, 395 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: and she would I don't know if I want to 396 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: say smart enough, but she knew enough to have answers 397 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: for everything before you or who else she was talking 398 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:22,159 Speaker 1: to was able to question them. Sarah was Aaron's best friend, 399 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: and she considered all these babies her own. She even 400 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,360 Speaker 1: referred to them as her nieces and nephews. In two 401 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: thousand and ten, Aaron was so excited to find out 402 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: that Sarah was pregnant again, she posted a video to YouTube. 403 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,439 Speaker 1: Hey guys, most of you who know me perfectly know 404 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,120 Speaker 1: that one of the most important things in my life 405 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: is my family, non biological or biological. I have a 406 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: lot of friends who I considered to be family because 407 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,760 Speaker 1: I'm an only child. Watching it now, it's easy for 408 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: Aaron to remember how she felt in that moment. I 409 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:06,399 Speaker 1: wanted to tell the whole world, you know, I have 410 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:11,399 Speaker 1: these amazing nieces and nephews and this amazing sister for 411 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: all intensive purposes. There's a reason that Sarah was well 412 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:19,000 Speaker 1: versed in the lingo of pregnancies and could send Aaron 413 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: real pictures of ultrasounds and sick babies. By two thousand twelve, 414 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 1: in Sarah's actual life, she had earned her nursing degree 415 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,879 Speaker 1: and was working in Oklahoma in a neo natal intensive 416 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 1: care unit. Or any of these pregnancies that she had 417 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: more memorable than any others, obviously the first one and 418 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,440 Speaker 1: then the cloud pregnancy. After the quad babies were born, 419 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: Sarah had named one of the little girls after Aaron. 420 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: She named one of the girls him my first name 421 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,920 Speaker 1: as her meddling, and then shortly after that baby was born, 422 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: Sarah had news for Aaron, her namesake, who had been 423 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: in the intensive care unit her whole life, had died, 424 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:20,160 Speaker 1: just like so many others. By early two thousand and fourteen, 425 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: Sarah and Aaron had been friends for almost a decade. 426 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:27,640 Speaker 1: This was just after Sarah had disappeared from Naomi's life 427 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,959 Speaker 1: in Virginia. Naomi, you'll remember, is a friend who had 428 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:35,800 Speaker 1: supported her through an abusive boyfriend and two miscarriages. Meanwhile, 429 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: Aaron was mourning the deaths of infants she loved his family, 430 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: even though she never saw them. Sarah had excuses for 431 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: why they couldn't come visit. They were with their grandparents. 432 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: Traveling with little ones was too much trouble. The kids 433 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,840 Speaker 1: have colds. I'm sorry this happened to you, because I 434 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: can't imagine multiple people you care about dying over a 435 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: period of ten years or so. It just must have 436 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:05,320 Speaker 1: been incredibly difficult. It was very taxi at times. But 437 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 1: I am very loyal to people who aren't care about 438 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: and sometimes to your fault. Obviously, Sara seemed to find 439 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,880 Speaker 1: women like this who were loyal to their friends, even 440 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: friends with roller coaster lives. Sarah wasn't just having pregnancy 441 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,720 Speaker 1: after pregnancy, in Aaron's eyes, she was also getting sick, 442 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: once with a brain tumor that left Sarah unable to speak. Yeah, basically, 443 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,560 Speaker 1: are reading John not good at And so your mom 444 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: would get on and Sarah would mouse the words, and 445 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: your mom would tell you what Sarah said, and then 446 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: you would answer. So your mom's in this in these 447 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: conversations as well. During one of these skype calls, Aaron 448 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: watched in horror as Sarah began to have a seizure. 449 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:58,800 Speaker 1: Aaron panicked everything and he wanted to jump through the 450 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: screen and older hand, or give her a hug, or 451 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: do something anything. And how long did this season go on? 452 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: Probably thirty seconds or maybe a little. At one point, 453 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: after they've been friends for a few years, Sarah returned 454 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: to using a wheelchair. She said she had developed s M, A, 455 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 1: the same rare condition that Gabby had. She came to 456 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,479 Speaker 1: visit Aaron during that time and stayed for more than 457 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 1: a week. Aaron's mom, who also by this time loved Sarah, 458 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: was a caregiver to both women. Even though she herself 459 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: was not feeling well, she still struggled do those nineties 460 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: to do what she needed to do to make sure 461 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: that we got to visit and do some things together 462 00:30:51,360 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 1: now we wouldn't normally get to do. In two thousand fourteen, 463 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: Aaron's mom passed away. Aaron descended into a deep depression. 464 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: As the family made funeral plans, Aaron's dad secretly arranged 465 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: for one thing that he thought would make Aaron feel better, 466 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: a surprise visit from Sarah. Shortly before her mom's funeral. 467 00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: Aaron was in her room, lying on her bed when 468 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: she heard someone say, does anyone need a sister. Aaron 469 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,959 Speaker 1: looked at her phone, recognizing Sarah's voice and thinking she 470 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: had accidentally dialed her up. And then Aaron looked around 471 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 1: to see Sarah smiling in her wheelchair, and I just 472 00:31:41,680 --> 00:31:46,600 Speaker 1: was stunned for a few seconds, and then I was like, Sisty, 473 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: what are you doing here? She's like, what do you 474 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,040 Speaker 1: think I'm doing here? Aaron gonna go to Wealth Service 475 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,920 Speaker 1: with your mom. I'm not gonna let you go by 476 00:31:55,960 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: your's tail. Sarah was wearing pink, so was Aaron. It 477 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: had been Gabby's favorite color. Pink was the only color 478 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: in the world, basically for both of us. The next year, 479 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: in two thousand and fifteen, Sarah went to Camp Summit. 480 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: She arrived decked out in pink. She told Aaron all 481 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 1: about it. Aaron wanted to go to so they made 482 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: plans to attend together the following summer. In two thousand sixteen, 483 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: Aaron bought her plane tickets and registered. Aaron was especially 484 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:35,320 Speaker 1: excited to meet Sarah's favorite counselor, Bethany. Bethany was the 485 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,400 Speaker 1: one person I wanted to meet more than anything, because 486 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 1: Sarah talks so highly of her and how she took 487 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,040 Speaker 1: give her and what a sweet person she was, which 488 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 1: is all true. And then that spring, Aaron's dad got 489 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,760 Speaker 1: a call from the camp director. She said, I know 490 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,120 Speaker 1: your daughter and Sarah are friends. There's something you need 491 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: to know about Sarah, and they broke the news. Sarah 492 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:14,280 Speaker 1: wasn't disabled, never had been. Aaron was stunned. So then 493 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: he starts telling me about Sarah and my head's one 494 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:21,400 Speaker 1: and I was like, wait, no, that's not too Her 495 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:24,280 Speaker 1: dad said he thought she should call Sarah, but he 496 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: warned her, don't accept her to be honest, because she's 497 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 1: never really been honest with you. But maybe just in 498 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,280 Speaker 1: the way that she answered you, you can kind of 499 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 1: get some closer and kind of realized why this is 500 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,120 Speaker 1: all happening and what kind of person she really was. 501 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,160 Speaker 1: They talked. Aaron remembers Sarah in tears, telling her that 502 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 1: she never meant to hurt her. What did you say 503 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: to her? I told her that it never would have 504 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: mattered what your life was, didn't matter if your family 505 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 1: was messed job where they're both your parents when doctors. 506 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 1: If not of this were true, it wouldn't have mattered 507 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: as long as you were as nice as you pluetraated 508 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:19,000 Speaker 1: yourself to be at camp. Aaron would have been Sarah's 509 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 1: friend if she hadn't been an Olympic skier or a 510 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:25,880 Speaker 1: bereft mother, or someone with a disability or brain cancer. 511 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,880 Speaker 1: But for some reason, it wasn't enough for Sarah to 512 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:36,960 Speaker 1: just be Sarah. I think she saw us go to 513 00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: camp and be loved and taken care of and treated 514 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: like we were special in getting extra care and stuff, 515 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:51,400 Speaker 1: and I think she in some extent wanted that because something, 516 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,160 Speaker 1: in some ways, maybe some of that was missing in 517 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,320 Speaker 1: her life and she was looking for that. She just 518 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 1: right the wrong way about it. Either that she's just 519 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 1: evil me and Bethany and so many other people who 520 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:14,600 Speaker 1: didn't really she amally take money from, but our hearts 521 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 1: and our most our families and everything that money can't buy. 522 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:30,400 Speaker 1: Even after Bethany, Aaron, Naomi and there were others, Sarah 523 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:34,720 Speaker 1: wasn't finished. But her victims were about to find one another, 524 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:39,359 Speaker 1: and that would change everything. I think that we were 525 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: both absolutely in shock at turning over the stone and 526 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: just seeing the enormity of it, the situation, how vast 527 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:50,200 Speaker 1: and wide and deep and complex it was. But you 528 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: were fearful to like of just to be clear, some 529 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,600 Speaker 1: kind of like fatal attraction moment, like she was going 530 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: to turn and just be. We were very afraid, and 531 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: both of the um police officers warned us to be. 532 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,839 Speaker 1: I was terrified. I was terrified. That's on the next 533 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:17,080 Speaker 1: episode of Sympathy Pains. Sympathy Pains is a production of 534 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: Neon Hum Media and I Heart Radio. I'm your host 535 00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,760 Speaker 1: Laura Beale I wrote and reported the episodes. Natalie Wrinn 536 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 1: is the lead producer. Our editor is Katherine st. Louis. 537 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:34,160 Speaker 1: Associate producer is Rufaro Mazzarua. Our executive producer is Jonathan Hirsch. 538 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:39,880 Speaker 1: Samantha Allison is our production manager. Fact checker is Jacqueline Colletti. 539 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,920 Speaker 1: Jesse Perlstein composed the theme song and music heard throughout 540 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:48,680 Speaker 1: the series. Additional tracks are by Epidemic Sound. Scott Somerville 541 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:52,680 Speaker 1: is our engineer and sound designer. Special thanks to Stephanie 542 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: Serrano from I Heart Radio. Special thanks to Carry Lieberman 543 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:01,439 Speaker 1: and beth Ann Macaluso. Exact getive producer at I Heart 544 00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:03,160 Speaker 1: Radio is Dylan Fagan.