In high school the halls are flooded with contagious negativity. 17 year old Kailey Cripps; however, learned the hard way to always be kind because everyone has their silent battles, including her uncle, Adam Strunk, who fatally jumped from a car.
Strunk was only 17 years old when he was hanging out with the wrong crowd. This caused Cripps, only 13 months younger, to stop seeing him as much. Prior to this, growing up the pair were best friends riding bikes to Walgreens, buying poster board and selling lemonade on the neighborhood corner.
“We weren’t making any profit,” Cripps said. “We were only in fifth grade.”
In July 2017, Strunk was doing fine despite his mental health struggles. July 31; however, Strunk jumped from a car and was knocked unconscious, causing severe brain bleeding.
“It made me realize everyone is going through their own things,” Cripps said.
While in the ambulance, Strunk stopped breathing. He was brain dead and on life support until Aug 2, 2017, when his family decided to let him pass.
“We shed a lot of tears, but realized it was his time to go,” Cripps said. “We all gathered around to show our love and support.”
Cripps wasn’t the only one affected by Strunk’s incident. Because Strunk was the rambunctious, goofy one of the family, things have since quieted down a lot. The whole family has a new perspective on each other and their time together.
“One Saturday a month our family tries to plan a big family outing because we realized just how easily we could all leave,” Cripps said.
Prior to Strunk’s passing, Cripps was less aware of how she made others feel. The mark Strunk made on Cripps caused her to be more considerate towards others. Cripps was changed as a person and remembers Strunk daily.
“Everyday I go through so many different emotions,” Cripps said. “I see things that remind me of him or think of something to ask him, but he’s never there.”
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