Aimee’s Greatest Play

August 2023

Small but mighty, Aimee Sachs had guts.  The gifted 4-foot-10 sports journalist made tough decisions decisively.

“She was so tiny, but she wasn’t easily intimidated,” said Samantha “Sam” Sachs, Aimee’s older sister.

In May of 2023, Aimee’s courage was on full display. After suffering two strokes in two weeks, the 38-year-old was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, a rare disorder of the nervous system. Paralyzed except for the muscles that control eye movement, she was conscious but could not move or speak.

With family gathered around her HCA Florida Capital Hospital bed, Aimee’s father, Ron Sachs, founder of Sachs Media, broke the news to his middle-of-three daughters.

“Dad told her she would never walk, talk, feed herself, bathe herself,” Sam said. “He asked her to close her eyes if she didn’t want to live that way. Then he also asked her to close her eyes if she still wanted to be an organ donor.”

Aimee Sachs made both decisions with the blink of an eye.

“She closed her eyes fast and hard,” said Sam. “It was heartbreaking, but it was also very moving to see her take control of her life in the only way she could.”

Aimee was winning in the game of life. A bona fide baseball fanatic, she fell in love with America’s past time at the age of 7.

Sam said her little sister’s passion for sports was ignited while on a father-daughter trip to see the Atlanta Braves. She fondly remembers Aimee gazing into the eyes of their father and delivering this heartfelt message.

“She was looking up at our dad and saying, ‘The field is so beautiful. I love baseball so much. Thank you for taking me here, and you really need to trim your nose hairs Dad.  I just love this game so much.’,” Sam said, amused. “Baseball was her passion from then on.”

The nose-hair comment, though unexpected, was fitting. Aimee had a diabolical sense of humor that came in handy with the petite journalist in a male-dominated profession.

“She would say or do something completely unexpected, and you would just lose it laughing,” said Sam, often in the crosshairs of Aimee’s pranks. Once Aimee deleted Sam’s entire Napster account along with hundreds of songs she had downloaded from the Internet.

“She was so amused when she heard me screaming from the home office,” Sam said.

Aimee pursued a career in sports journalism after she graduated from the University of Florida in 2007 and started her career at the Tallahassee Democrat. She worked at various outlets as a freelance sports reporter, including the Associated Press, the Tampa Bay Times, The Trentonian and the Bradenton Herald.

Aimee’s favorite job was covering her favorite Major League Baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, for MLB.com.

“We have this picture of two high school coaches lifting her up on their shoulders, and you could see the size difference between them,” Sam said.  “It’s hilarious.”

On May 20, 2023, Aimee felt immobilizing neck pain and called 911. She was taken to HCA Florida Capital Hospital, where doctors said she suffered a mild stroke. Her condition was improving. She was learning to walk again with the help of physical therapists and was expected to make a full recovery.

Eight days later, while sitting with Aimee in the hospital, Sam said her speech began to slur, and her smile drooped. She pointed to her chest and mouthed the words “hard to breathe.”

Aimee had suffered a second stroke, this one more incapacitating than the first. The day after her massive stroke, Aimee woke up.

“She was completely conscious and aware of what was going on around her,” Sam said. “She could understand everything that was happening, but was unable to communicate except that she was able to blink her eyes.”

Aimee registered to be an organ donor years ago and remained steadfast in her decision. A few months before she passed, she reiterated her choice to donate while talking with a friend.

“My sister emphatically told my roommate that she wanted to be an organ donor someday if she was in a situation where she was at the end of her life and could not be saved,” Sam said.

Aimee’s life peacefully ended in a hospital operating room on May 31 with her father and big sister by her side.

“It was a privilege for me to be there with her,” Sam said. “I held her hand, and my dad stroked her hair and her face. We both told her how much we loved her. My dad told her that she wasn’t going to suffer anymore.”

Just like that, fun fearless Aimee was gone. But her beautiful legacy lives on. Aimee saved three people through her Gifts of Life. Two men, ages 19 and 24, each received a kidney. Aimee’s liver was donated to a 42-year-old woman.

“I am so deeply proud of Aimee and the choices she made at the end of her life,” Sam said. “She was braver than the rest of us because we were all terrified about what was happening. She took control of her life and made the choice to give life to three other people.”

Doctors, nurses, unit and other hospital staff lined the hospital hallways to silently pay their final respect during Aimee’s Honor Walk, the journey that a donor family takes from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the operating room (OR). The Sachs family walked behind Aimee’s bed during the sacred ritual.

Sweet music filled the air reflecting Aimee’s Jewish heritage. “L’Chi Lach,” by Debbie Friedman. It was Aimee’s favorite song.

L’chi lach, to a land that I will show you
Leich l’cha, to a place you do not know
L’chi lach, on your journey I will bless you
And you shall be a blessing

“Organ donation is such a selfless caring act,” Sam said. “Nobody anticipates that their life will end abruptly or that they will be in a situation where their organs can be donated, but it is such a gift and will provide you with a lasting legacy of generosity to check that box when you sign up for a license, or to go to DonateLifeFlorida.org and register to be an organ donor.

“It may never happen, but on the chance that it does, you’ll be giving an incredible gift to people who are in dire circumstances.”

Aimee would have turned 39 on November 10. Sam recently came across a gift her sister had given her, a tea set, just like one she and Sam played with when they were little. Aimee had accidently broken some pieces from the original tea set.

“I opened the box, and there was a gorgeous ornate miniature tea set inside,” Sam said. “I can’t believe I was lucky enough to be her sister for 38 years.”

Aimee’s father said he misses her every day.

“It’s hard to compare anything in life to the great gift of having children whom you bring into this world and love so dearly,” Ron said. “We are mostly comforted by our memories and the great gift of having Aimee in our lives for all of her 38 years. And, we rejoice in our pride for her selfless decision to extend her life’s impact and meaning by donating her organs as the ultimate Gift of Life to others.”

(By Kim Gilmore, Sr. Public Education Coordinator)