Lisa Salberg
06-27-2003, 08:52 PM
Dear friends, sorry to say I have bad news. This one hit too close to home for me. In my local newspaper I saw the obituary of a 17 yr old from my town - He had lost his brother in 1996. I recalled the story of his brother. He was at a party with some friends and was walking down the street and died in the street. 7 yrs later a strange set of circumstances has connected the HCMA to this family - but a little too late. You see Kelly, who joined our staff a few weeks ago is the wife of a police officer - the one who responded to the call for help for Reggies older brother - he used an AED but it was too late and the boy had died.
From time to time I wondered about the cause of death as it sounded like HCM...but I never heard anything... until now.
Last Saturday a call came over the local EMS network (my dad and brother are both volunteer first aiders) in short it said 17 yr old down, and it did not sound good. It was not until I saw the paper that I made the connection that it may be the same family...there was a simple write up in one paper...it was only this morning that I saw the article below and reached out to the family.
This family lives 3 miles from me... This boy was in school with my nieces in both Jr high and High school. I wish we were able to help sooner but it was not to be. Tomorrow I will be meeting the family at their home and helping explain HCM and what we can do now to protect the rest of the family.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers ---they have lost too much and will need all the support they can get.
Sincerely,
Lisa
Reginald Ancheta, 17, sunshine in many lives
Friday, June 27, 2003
BY MAURA McDERMOTT
Star-Ledger Staff
Reginald Ancheta had a smile so big it nearly obscured his eyes when he was happy.
The 17-year-old Rockaway boy, known as "Gabby" to his family and "Reggie" to his friends, always had kind words for his classmates, from close friends in his rock band, Aidenn, to teenagers or children he barely knew.
He never let the asthma that often left him breathless interfere with football practice, wrestling or doing tricks on his BMX bike.
In short, he was an exceptional person.
But nearly seven years after a rare heart ailment stole the life of his 16-year-old older brother, Genesis Jasper, or G.J., Gabby collapsed at home and died in Saint Clare's Hospital in Denville on Saturday.
The family fears the same heart ailment may be to blame for Gabby's death.
"He was a happy kid, full of energy, and when he wanted to do something he had the determination to do it," his mother, Lourdes Ida Ancheta, said.
Gabby would have graduated Tuesday from Morris Knolls High School. Instead, his friends gathered in droves at his funeral in Jacksonville Chapel in Lincoln Park yesterday, where they shared memories of his cheerfulness, his determination and his striking musical talent.
Principal Kurt Weinheimer delivered his diploma to the family the same day.
"He certainly was a good student and really a delightful young man," Weinheimer said later. "He was the kind of kid who always had a smile on his face. It just never seemed like he never had a down day, and that's probably why he was known and liked by almost everyone in his class."
Gabby's classmates were "tremendously distraught," Weinheimer said.
A videotaped tribute, made by his close friends, was played in the school auditorium before the graduation rehearsal Tuesday morning. Close to two-thirds of the senior class attended, and crisis counselors met with the grieving students after the video ended, the principal said.
Gabby was born in Belleville and moved to Rockaway in 1987.
He was the creative musical force behind Aidenn, a rock band he formed with students from his school and nearby Morris Hills High School.
G.J.'s heart had an enlarged middle wall, his mother said. He died Sept. 21, 1996, after he sprinted ahead of a few friends on his way back to a party but then suddenly collapsed, she said.
After G.J. died, Gabby and his sister, Kathleen, 21, were checked for the heart ailment that killed their brother. Both were found to be healthy, and neither ever had chest pains, his mother said.
Gabby blossomed as a guitarist and songwriter for the band, whose name is derived from the biblical paradise of Eden. At his funeral, his friends recalled how quickly he picked up the guitar and how easily melodies seemed to come to him.
The band played at school events, among them a fund-raiser for The Spectrum, the school's literary magazine. Aidenn's music focused on such teenage tribulations as struggling to find an identity and coping with betrayal.
His religious faith was a mainstay of his life, according to his mother. Among the teen's ambitions was to become a kindergarten teacher, as he loved children.
In addition to his mother and sister, Gabby is survived by his father, Reginaldo, and his grandmother, Lourdes Capistrano.
From time to time I wondered about the cause of death as it sounded like HCM...but I never heard anything... until now.
Last Saturday a call came over the local EMS network (my dad and brother are both volunteer first aiders) in short it said 17 yr old down, and it did not sound good. It was not until I saw the paper that I made the connection that it may be the same family...there was a simple write up in one paper...it was only this morning that I saw the article below and reached out to the family.
This family lives 3 miles from me... This boy was in school with my nieces in both Jr high and High school. I wish we were able to help sooner but it was not to be. Tomorrow I will be meeting the family at their home and helping explain HCM and what we can do now to protect the rest of the family.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers ---they have lost too much and will need all the support they can get.
Sincerely,
Lisa
Reginald Ancheta, 17, sunshine in many lives
Friday, June 27, 2003
BY MAURA McDERMOTT
Star-Ledger Staff
Reginald Ancheta had a smile so big it nearly obscured his eyes when he was happy.
The 17-year-old Rockaway boy, known as "Gabby" to his family and "Reggie" to his friends, always had kind words for his classmates, from close friends in his rock band, Aidenn, to teenagers or children he barely knew.
He never let the asthma that often left him breathless interfere with football practice, wrestling or doing tricks on his BMX bike.
In short, he was an exceptional person.
But nearly seven years after a rare heart ailment stole the life of his 16-year-old older brother, Genesis Jasper, or G.J., Gabby collapsed at home and died in Saint Clare's Hospital in Denville on Saturday.
The family fears the same heart ailment may be to blame for Gabby's death.
"He was a happy kid, full of energy, and when he wanted to do something he had the determination to do it," his mother, Lourdes Ida Ancheta, said.
Gabby would have graduated Tuesday from Morris Knolls High School. Instead, his friends gathered in droves at his funeral in Jacksonville Chapel in Lincoln Park yesterday, where they shared memories of his cheerfulness, his determination and his striking musical talent.
Principal Kurt Weinheimer delivered his diploma to the family the same day.
"He certainly was a good student and really a delightful young man," Weinheimer said later. "He was the kind of kid who always had a smile on his face. It just never seemed like he never had a down day, and that's probably why he was known and liked by almost everyone in his class."
Gabby's classmates were "tremendously distraught," Weinheimer said.
A videotaped tribute, made by his close friends, was played in the school auditorium before the graduation rehearsal Tuesday morning. Close to two-thirds of the senior class attended, and crisis counselors met with the grieving students after the video ended, the principal said.
Gabby was born in Belleville and moved to Rockaway in 1987.
He was the creative musical force behind Aidenn, a rock band he formed with students from his school and nearby Morris Hills High School.
G.J.'s heart had an enlarged middle wall, his mother said. He died Sept. 21, 1996, after he sprinted ahead of a few friends on his way back to a party but then suddenly collapsed, she said.
After G.J. died, Gabby and his sister, Kathleen, 21, were checked for the heart ailment that killed their brother. Both were found to be healthy, and neither ever had chest pains, his mother said.
Gabby blossomed as a guitarist and songwriter for the band, whose name is derived from the biblical paradise of Eden. At his funeral, his friends recalled how quickly he picked up the guitar and how easily melodies seemed to come to him.
The band played at school events, among them a fund-raiser for The Spectrum, the school's literary magazine. Aidenn's music focused on such teenage tribulations as struggling to find an identity and coping with betrayal.
His religious faith was a mainstay of his life, according to his mother. Among the teen's ambitions was to become a kindergarten teacher, as he loved children.
In addition to his mother and sister, Gabby is survived by his father, Reginaldo, and his grandmother, Lourdes Capistrano.