The bright light of a beautiful woman and a life well lived continues to radiate through the San Diego, California community despite the March 25 passing of Kirsten Leigh Pasquinelli Sandstrom. A valiant, 21-month battle against Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma did not dim the humor and love of Kirsten, wife of elementary school teacher Ed and mother to 12-year-old twins Bailey and Holden and eight-year-old Jake.
Kirsten, age 38, was raised in Yuma, Arizona, where she lived with parents Gary and Barbara Pasquinelli and sisters Cyndee, Mia and Amanda before relocating to Los Angeles to attend Loyola Marymount University, where she earned a Master's Degree in Education and met the love of her life. In 1998, she and Ed moved to San Diego, where she was soon embraced by those who appreciated her dazzling wit and infectious laugh, and a zest for life evidenced by her commitment to the Morning Creek Elementary PTA, Cub Scouts and twins club; Kirsten also shared her gifts through gourmet cooking, scrapbooking, card making, and enthusiastically cheering on her sons on baseball and soccer fields.
Kirsten's arduous yet graceful battle against ACC was eased by the support and expertise of the doctors and staff at TGen. "The doctors at TGen guided us through every step of our journey," notes husband Ed, "in fighting against this under-funded and rare cancer. Our family is forever indebted to the doctors and staff at TGen for their efforts to help find a cure to ensure that other families have more scientific knowledge to combat this in the future."
If you would like to make a donation to Kirsten's Memorial in support of adrenocortical carcinoma research, please click here.
