Aubrien Jimenez, who made lasting impact on UConn, has died at 15
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Aubrien Jimenez’s take a look at with the UConn men’s basketball group in March was fairly quick, but deeply impactful.
Jimenez, identified in June, 2021 with Stage 4 esthesioneuroblastoma, a exceptional type of cancer that influences the olfactory program, designed a particular go to with her loved ones from their Bradenton, Florida house to attend UConn’s Significant East tournament video game versus Villanova, adopted by the team’s Variety Display celebration inside the Werth Spouse and children Champions Centre on March 13.
The stop by intended anything to the Aubrien, a UConn fan as a result of her father, Mario, a Bridgeport native who graduated from Bunnell Superior in 2003.
“We weren’t absolutely sure what to be expecting, since it was so impromptu and spontaneous,” Mario recalled. “It was a single of the biggest times of her lifetime. It produced this sort of an impact on our spouse and children.”
Aubrien died on June 22 at 3:11 a.m. at age 15, with her mom, Kimber, and Mario by her facet. Her funeral was on Saturday.
Aubrien’s brother Mariano, 6, had received a UConn hat from mentor Dan Hurley and his spouse Andrea throughout the Jimenez’s take a look at. On Saturday, Mario put the hat within his sister’s casket, a single of the couple goods that will be with her without end.
“That definitely just speaks to what that trip meant to our complete spouse and children,” Mario stated.
But Aubrien’s visit wasn’t only impactful to her and her spouse and children. The UConn basketball relatives was enormously impacted, as effectively. On Thursday, just several hours in advance of his lifetime would without end be transformed as the Atlanta Hawks’ 2nd-spherical pick in the NBA Draft, Tyrese Martin replied to a Twitter write-up from the Inspiration Academy Softball that introduced Aubrien’s passing.
“Aubrien you had been a fighter!,” Martin wrote. “It’s a blessing to say I was equipped to commit time and have a conversation with you this calendar year. You will be skipped in the UConn family! My prayers go out to your family members. Get some rest.”
“That’s extraordinary, just unbelievable,” Mario marveled. “That’s the major working day of his everyday living, and he’s chatting about Aubrien. That just blows my mind.”
The Jimenez family has held in touch with Dan and Andrea Hurley at any time since the check out, exchanging texts, sharing updates. Not long ago, Andrea shared a specific information: the staff will be hanging a portrait of Aubrien inside of their locker room in the Werth Middle.
“To hear that from the Hurley household is unbelievable,” Mario said. “To hear how significantly Aubrien impacted them is something that we’ll carry with us endlessly. We couldn’t be far more grateful of the time we bought to invest with the Hurleys.”
Aubrien Jimenez’s memory will forever be with the UConn men’s basketball crew. It will be with Crew United states of america softball, as perfectly.
Aubrien was a really fantastic softball participant, a lefty-hitting shortstop who would have performed varsity as a freshman this earlier spring.
“Down listed here in Florida,” Mario pointed out, “that implies some thing.”
Though Aubrien was in the oncology device at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, 1 of her nurses was Meghan King, a star of the 2018 national-champion Florida State softball crew.
King relayed Aubrien’s tale throughout the softball entire world. Taylor Pleasants, an LSU shortstop now taking part in on Team United states, strike a home operate on Wednesday, the exact same working day Aubrien died. She will be transport that softball to the Jimenez family members.
This is how Mario and his family members are going ahead next Aubrien’s dying. Gratitude and thankfulness for Aubrien’s way too-brief lifetime acquire priority above disappointment and despair. The Jimenez family desires persons not only to see Aubrien’s story, but to see how they are dealing with it.
“We’re residing a single working day at a time,” Mario mentioned. “We’re really big on our religion, Christ is really crucial to us. We’re making use of this, humbly, as an possibility to issue people today to our faith and clearly show people, ‘Hey, this is various. This is a unique response than we’re ordinarily applied to viewing.’ We’re hoping this shines through by way of our tale. It is a exceptional opportunity, which is for absolutely sure.”
And so, even though Mario and Kimber desired Aubrien to keep at the medical center in excess of her ultimate times, they agreed to their daughter’s ask for that she return dwelling for hospice care. It was the right move. Aubrien liked hearing folks in the upcoming place laughing or cheering on the UConn baseball staff. It made her feel at household.
Just about every night time in latest months, the rest of the loved ones would assemble all around Aubrien’s bed, go through a Bible verse, play a worship tune. Sometimes, Aubrien appeared to be sleeping, unconscious, but quickly lift her arms as if she have been worshiping. She listened to it all.
Previous week, her cancer having metastasized to her spine and critical organs, Aubrien reported to her father: “Daddy, I’m ready to go. I really don’t want to be in soreness anymore.”
Mario sang her a tune — “Cinderella,” by Steven Curtis Chapman, a music about a father sharing every moment of his lifestyle with his daughter, realizing that just one day she’ll be gone, like Cinderella. He hugged Aubrien, cried on her shoulder. A handful of hrs afterwards, she handed away.
“It was good for her to be discomfort-totally free now,” Mario reported.
Mario Jimenez is hoping to pay a visit to UConn all over again this season, get in a video game and discuss to the group about his daughter. Most will currently know of her tale. All will know her by the portrait, hanging inside their locker place, forever honoring the memory of Aubrien Jimenez.
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