In this profoundly moving episode of Friends in Training: Life is a Marathon, Marcela welcomes Sarah Perry, a mother whose story of unimaginable loss and extraordinary purpose will leave you believing in the power of love, legacy, and the strength of the human spirit. Sarah is the proud mother of Aiden Spencer Perry, a brilliant 17 year old who tragically lost his life trying to save someone else. Aiden was a preemie who lived his life fast and hard, graduating at the top of his class with a 5.89 GPA and a perfect score on his SAT. He dreamed of becoming a neurosurgeon and spent his life helping others through hundreds of volunteer hours and a heart that always put people first. On a fateful April night in 2020, Sarah and Aiden went on one of their cherished walk and talk traditions, a time they used to connect and share anything without judgment. During those 17 minutes from their home to the lake, they talked about everything, conversations that would later bring Sarah closure and understanding. As they walked along a path they had traveled many times before, they witnessed a car lose control and catapult into the lake. When the driver opened his door and yelled for help, Aiden answered the call the only way he knew how, by jumping in. In less than three seconds, a vortex pulled the driver 40 feet to the bottom. Aiden hit his head on a rock, broke his neck, and died instantly. Neither Aiden nor the driver survived. That night at the hospital, Sarah made her son a promise she would never let him be forgotten. From that promise, she created the Aiden Perry Good Samaritan Scholarship Fund, a 501c3 foundation that honors students not for their grades or test scores, but for their kindness, selflessness, and heroic actions. Within the first week of launching a GoFundMe, Sarah raised $140,000, and she knew she was on to something greater than grief. Today, the foundation provides scholarships, free SAT prep, tutoring, testing fees, uniforms, school supplies, and support for local school projects and clubs, all in honor of Aiden's perfect SAT score and his dream of helping others succeed. But Sarah's mission didn't stop there. Months after Aiden's death, she traveled alone to London and Scotland to fulfill a promise they had made to travel together. On a train ride from London to Scotland, she began seeing life rings everywhere, in empty fields, by castles, near moats, in the most remote locations. When she returned home and saw a makeshift life ring on a path she ran regularly, she knew what Aiden wanted her to do. She reached out to fire chiefs and rescue divers and confirmed what she suspected, there were almost no life rings by bodies of water in South Florida. That realization led to the creation of the Aiden Perry Hero Life Initiative, a mission to install 24 inch life rings with Aiden's hero message by lakes, canals, ponds, and waterways across the state. To date, the foundation has donated over 700 life rings and saved multiple lives. Just days before this recording, another life was saved in Lauderdale when a car went into the water and a good Samaritan used an Aiden Perry Hero Life Ring to rescue a woman who could not swim. The rescuer, who was also not a strong swimmer, made it home safely because the life ring was there. Sarah sits on both the state and county Drowning Prevention Task Forces and is on a mission to make every waterway safer, one ring at a time. Drowning is the number one accidental cause of death in Florida, and Sarah refuses to rest until life rings are installed by every body of water possible. Throughout their conversation, Marcela and Sarah explore the power of running as therapy, the walk and talk tradition every parent should adopt, the weight of living your child's legacy, the importance of Good Samaritan scholarships that honor kindness over grades, the stories of students whose lives have been changed by the foundation, the Aiden Perry Hero 5K event held every December at Markham Park, the special Ethan Lawrence scholarship given to the top 15 to 19 year old male and female finishers in honor of another young runner lost too soon, how to get involved as a sponsor or participant, and why life is a marathon that requires us to keep moving forward one day, one step, and one promise at a time. Sarah also shares powerful advice for anyone going through hard times, reminding us that it's okay not to be okay, that mental health is real, that you don't have to go through grief the way anyone else tells you to, that your village will show up but you have to let them in on your terms, and that the need for support doesn't end after the first week or month, it lasts for the long haul. She encourages listeners to reach out to friends weeks, months, and years after a loss, because this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. Learn more, visit: https://friendsintraining.net
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52 min