Another teen has died in an Aspen-run program. @ Nigel, I rest my case. Please heed your wife's doubts. Her gut instinct about this is right. If you are reluctant to share this story with your wife, then your gut should tell you that you, too, know your boy needs to come home now--not in October, not in 2 years.
http://http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/portland_teen_collapses_and_di.htmlSergey Blashchishen, 16, died Friday, August 28, 2009. He had been there one day. This is not an isolated incident. We'll wait for the details to emerge, but I expect we will hear the familiar story of events emerge: The teen complains about not feeling well, and is ignored. Then the teen vomits, and is ignored. Then the teen collapes, and the staff on hand is not trained to save the child's life. How many times have we heard this story?
I am so angry. Don't tell me that just because some families have good outcomes in Aspen programs that risking any child's life and well being in these programs is justified.
I note sadly, since this had been one of my recommendations to you, that an attempt had been made to place the boy with an uncle prior to placing him in SageWalk.
Please keep this boy and this family in your thoughts.Auntie Em
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More on SageWalk from the Fornits Wiki
http://http://wiki.fornits.com/index.php?title=Sagewalk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From The Oregonian
Portland teen collapses and dies during wilderness camp hikeby Stephen Beaven, The Oregonian
Tuesday September 01, 2009, 2:44 PM
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a Portland teen who collapsed during a hike as part of a wilderness camp exercise, a spokesman said today.
Sergey Blashchishen, 16, died Friday after collapsing about 2:30 p.m., said Deputy Chuck Pore. An autopsy was performed on Sunday but the results are incomplete and a cause of death has not been determined, Pore said.
Investigators are trying to find out if Blashchishen, who lived in Northeast Portland, had any medical problems that might have contributed to his death, Pore said. He had passed a physical the day before he died.
Blashchishen was attending the SageWalk wilderness school, a program for troubled teens based in Redmond. He was hiking with a group in northern Lake County between Burns and Bend when he got sick.
"He said he didn't feel good and shortly after that collapsed," Pore said.
The Bureau of Land Management has suspended the permit for SageWalk to operate on BLM land, pending the outcome of the investigation. It could not be confirmed if Blashchishen was on BLM property when he collapsed.
"SageWalk considers student safety our number one priority and takes this incident very seriously," SageWalk Executive Director Mike Bednarz said in a statement.
Lyudmila Blashchishena, Sergey's mother, said she was told that her son vomited and then passed out during the hike, adding that he did not suffer from any medical conditions.
"We are still so shocked," she said. "He always did sports, never had any disease. How could he pass away just from hiking?"
Blashchishen dropped out of Parkrose High School last year, his mother said, and enrolled in the wilderness school on Thursday.
He had worked construction and lived with an uncle before deciding to go to SageWalk.
"He asked me to place him in the boot camp," his mother said. "He really wanted to change his behavior."
--Stephen Beaven;
[email protected]
