13-year-old loses fight against brain-stem cancer

After a battle with brain-stem cancer that lasted almost 18 months, 13-year-old Sahara Aldridge died Monday night at her Cape Girardeau home.

Sahara's father, Shannon Aldridge, said Sahara's death was peaceful and followed a long day of physical therapy at a hospital.

"About 7:10 I heard her take a breath and close her eyes," Aldridge said. "I thought she was taking a nap."

The family is planning a public memorial service at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lynwood Baptist Church.

Sahara's death came just a few days after she returned from California, where she was treated by a medical team at Stanford University. The doctors had removed 70 percent of her tumor recently and rediagnosed it, saying the tumor was less aggressive than originally thought.

One of the first students to sign the banner puts an exclamation mark after her message for Sahara Aldridge, who lost her battle with cancer Monday night. Students at Central Junior High filled the banner with well wishes on Tuesday afternoon. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

'Caught me completely off guard'

This was a time of optimism for a family that had been through many dark times already. Shannon Aldridge said after all they'd been through, he never expected the end to come now, after the outlook had brightened considerably.

"There's been so many days over the last 17 months that I thought maybe, that was the day that would be the last day, but yesterday I didn't have that feeling. It caught me completely off guard," Shannon said. He speculates Sahara may have waited so she could die at home, with both her parents there. While Sahara and Amy were in California, Shannon was home much of the time, continuing to work to support his family.

Shannon said he didn't know the exact cause of death, but he suspected her heart was overstressed.

Monday night marked the end of a long and public battle with cancer which saw Sahara Aldridge -- 12 years old at the time of her diagnosis -- become something of a hero to people locally, nationally and in other countries.

Shannon Aldridge, left, of Cape Girardeau, chatted with daughter Sahara, center, as mom Amy looked on at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in this Sept. 1, 2006, photo. Sahara died Monday. (HEATH HAMILTON • photos@semissourian.com)

Pop music and soap opera star Rick Springfield, a family friend, took up Sahara's cause last year, encouraging his fans to give the Aldridge family spiritual and financial support. Locally, several fundraisers were held for the Aldridge family. Individuals and businesses contributed time and money to help the family in their fight.

Shannon Aldridge said his daughter never understood why she became such a local celebrity. During Sahara's illness, the family constantly stressed their amazement and gratitude at the generosity displayed by the local community. Because of that generosity and support they allowed Sahara's battle to be largely public, even posting regular updates on her blog site, www.saharaaldridge.com. However, the family kept some details of the illness and treatment private.

Shannon said he encourages people wanting to express their sympathies to log on to the site and post them there. By 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 90 comments had already been posted expressing sorrow over Sahara's death.

"I never knew this child," wrote one anonymous blogger. "I found this post on accident, found it interesting and have been reading since then. There were days when I was in my 'poor pitiful me' mode. I read a post and feel so much better. She gave me strength to face life. She made me thankful. She gave me hope. God is with you. He will take care of you ..."

Among those who took up Sahara's cause were Paul and Peg MacDougall, owners of PMac Music and the Edward Bernard Gallery. Both businesses devoted space to collection jars and other items to collect money for the Aldridge cause. They also sold orange and white bracelets imprinted with the slogan "Hope for Hoops" and Sahara's name on them.

Hoops was Sahara's nickname. Before her motor skills were impaired by the tumor, Sahara loved sports, especially basketball.

"My store is kind of bare at the moment. So much of ... all the store was Sahara-based, as it turns out," Paul MacDougall said of his music store Monday morning.

The MacDougalls developed a close friendship with the Aldridge family, a relationship that started because Shannon is a regular customer. Since Sahara's diagnosis, the store has become a hub of Sahara news, said MacDougall, with Shannon stopping by when he returned to Cape Girardeau from Sahara's treatments at far away hospitals to share updates.

News traveled quickly to Central Junior High School, where many of Sahara's friends attend seventh-grade classes. Principal Roy Merideth said teachers were briefed on Sahara's death in the morning and told to be prepared in helping students deal with their grief. The day started with a moment of silence. Extra counselors were waiting in case students needed help. The school also posted a message on its site asking visitors to remember Sahara.

Merideth said he hasn't had to deal with a student death in his three years as principal, but he hoped the day "turns into a celebration of her life" instead of just a day of mourning.

During their lunch periods, Sahara's friends and classmates were allowed to write messages to or about her on a banner.

Through the long battle, Shannon Aldridge said his daughter never stopped fighting, always looking forward to the day she'd be able to rejoin her friends in school.

But thanks to their faith, Shannon said he and Amy know their daughter is now in a better place where she doesn't have to fight or feel pain. And Sahara's impact on so many people with help ease their own.

"This week will be hard, but we're surrounded by good memories," Shannon said. "There are so many cool things she did, so many people over the last few months she's touched because of her fight. Cape Girardeau will never forget her."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182