Editor’s Note: Samantha Askey, who died last year at the age of 18 due to complications from HIV/AIDS, will be honored at Fashion Funds the Cure, a fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation on April 22.
Samantha, who lived with her grandparents in East Orlando, briefly attended Liberty Middle School when her health allowed. During her lifelong struggle with the disease, her courage and strength became an inspiration to all, including CrossRoads, an international organization that provides educational solutions to communities devastated by social crises like HIV/AIDS.The following is a tribute to Samantha, posted on CrossRoadsLink.org.
Samantha Askey was, as her best friend Sarah Vermilyea described her, a “girly-girl.” The bouncy redhead loved to shop; one of her favorite mall stores was Claire’s, a costume jewelry boutique. That was where Samantha and Sarah, inseparable since the day they met in a kindergarten class at church, bought a “best friends” heart necklace — the kind that comes as one piece and splits apart for both friends to wear.
Samantha was like many teenagers — she enjoyed spending time with friends, eating out and attending youth group. One of her favorite activities at church was called “Bible Drill,” where she would belt out memorized Scripture in eight seconds flat.
She also loved to laugh, talk on the phone and cook. But the 18-year-old was different from the average adolescent in the most essential of ways: Samantha lived with HIV. Her battle finally ended in August of last year when she died due to complications from the illness. “She was the strongest person I had ever known before,” Sarah says.
“She definitely continues to affect my life in many ways.” Samantha, who lived in East Orlando with her grandparents, was born with the illness, and lost both her parents to the disease when she was very young. Samantha’s faith, according to friends and family, was what kept her strong and content with her difficult circumstances.
One of her favorite verses in the Bible was Philippians 4:13 (NIV), which says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” That strength enabled Samantha to make an impact in countless people’s lives. When she was 12, she was featured, along with four other people, in a CrossRoads-produced short film called Choices.
Samantha and the others told of how God had changed their lives and helped them to live with HIV/AIDS. The video has been used in churches in the United States and across the world, with pastors reporting how the youth in their churches have been changed as a result of Samantha’s story. When she was 14, Samantha received the Florida Hospital Medal of Honor.
Each year, a special child is chosen and awarded at the hospital’s Golden Gala. Because Samantha was sick so frequently, she came to know the hospital staff well. One day, the staff looked the other way when Samantha’s grandmother, Solfrid Askey, snuck her two dachshunds into her granddaughter’s hospital room.
“She didn’t complain and always had a smile on her face,” says Solfrid, who comments that she and her husband never kept Samantha in a “bubble.” She traveled with her family overseas, went to a special prom for teenagers with terminal illnesses, and enjoyed working on her tan at the beach.
Samantha contracted B cell lymphoma in September of 2006, a condition common to those who suffer from AIDS. After long months of chemotherapy treatments, she spent the last two weeks of her life in a drug-induced coma — with friends and family by her side — reading and talking to her. She continued to remain well-loved and accepted, even at the end of her life.
“You had to wait in line outside just to get in to talk to her,” says Sarah. Just like the “best friends” heart necklaces worn by the two girls, Samantha had a giant, gold heart of her own, and like such a beautiful, resilient jewel her heart will always be held close to those who knew and loved her.
