The mother of Sydney Aiello said her daughter had survivor’s guilt and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sydney Aiello, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School graduate who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after surviving the 2018 shooting, killed herself on Sunday, her family has said.
Her mother, Cara, told CBS Miami that Sydney, 19, struggled to attend college because of her fears about being in a classroom again.
Cara said that Sydney was at school on the day of the Parkland shooting, although she was not in the Freshman Building where 17 people died. Her close friend Meadow Pollack, 18, was one of the victims.
Cara said her daughter had survivor’s guilt and was recently diagnosed with PTSD.
The teen’s funeral was on Friday.
“It was devastating to bury another beautiful young person in Parkland today. Our community is going through tragedy again,” Hunter Pollack, Meadow’s brother, posted on Twitter.
“Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister,” he added.
His father Andrew Pollack spoke with the Miami Herald, telling Parkland students if they were suffering that they could reach out to him. “Killing yourself is not the answer,” he said.
“It’s terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time,” said Pollack.
A GoFundMe run by friends of the family has raised over $60,000 for her family.
“Sydney spent 19 years writing her story as a beloved daughter, sister and friend to many,” it reads. “She lit up every room she entered. She filled her days cheerleading, doing yoga, and brightening up the days of others. Sydney aspired to work in the medical field helping others in need.”
Sydney posted on her Facebook page that she started at Florida Atlantic University last August.
She shared a post last June about how the friends of Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, and Kate Spade — all of who killed themselves — described them as happy people
“So, let me say this really loud so the people in the back of the room can hear me… SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO CHECK ON THOSE WHO SEEM THE STRONGEST,” it reads.
She also posted about teaching yoga classes at a local studio, and shared news stories about Parkland survivors and parents of victims.
Sydney attended the March for Our Lives event in Washington, DC, last March and posted photos on her Facebook carrying a sign that read “never again” and “not one more,” according to the Miami Herald.
“I am heartbroken to no end that our community has lost another beautiful soul. Another angel in the sky from MSD,” wrote Cameron Kasky, one of the co-founders of the March for Our Lives movement, on Twitter.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. You can also text TALK to 741741 for 24/7, anonymous, free counseling.