Priscilla Frias was hard at work on her American Dream. With her went the dreams of her migrant parents.
Frias' dream ended all too soon in a plume of smoke and ash when she died of respiratory distress during the Harris Fire. She was 20.
Frias' death was "related to the poor air quality" in the South Bay on Oct 24, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office. She had attended her Southwestern College classes that Monday morning, her parents said, and fell ill on her way home after the college was closed at noon due to hazardous air.
Her last hours on campus on Monday, Oct. 22, she spent keeping her friend, Lupe Arreaga, company. Later that day, she began coughing and sneezing blood. Her parents took her to Tijuana in search of cleaner air. Eventually her symptoms worsened and her parents realized that they needed to take her to the hospital. She was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista, where doctors declared her inoperable. She died there 3:52 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Described by her friends to be the life of the party, Frias' favorite thing to do was spend time with her friends. They called her "callejera" because she liked hanging out in the street with her friends in Tijuana. Friends remember her sense of humor, and pictures on MySpace.com show her modeling several humorous masks.
"As soon as she would arrive she would light up the room," said Arreaga, 19. Frias and Arreaga spent a lot of their time on MySpace.com, one of Frias' favorite hobbies. She also enjoyed dancing to pop music in Spanish, especially the band RBD.
Her friends described her as fiercely independent.
"She was like a little a hunter. She liked to find her own way," said Arreaga.
Her parents said she was a good student and liked school. Frias was studying at SWC to become a nurse. By the time she was 25, she wanted to be married with kids and supporting her family through nursing.
She had her life all planned out already. Not only did she want to become a nurse, but she wanted to get married by 25 and have a family.
"After all of that, she wanted to take care of her father when he was old," said her mother, Maria del Carmen Frias.
While the family was in Tijuana looking for cleaner air, Priscilla seemed to know she was in trouble, her mother said. Priscilla bought perfume for her aunts and asked them to wear it at her funeral if something happened to her. She was the most passionate about giving and helping others.
As Priscilla's condition worsened, she knew she needed to warn her family.
Her last words were to her mother.
"Mom, I'm not going to make it," she said.
She died later that day. Her body was transported to Tijuana where her funeral was held at Guadalupana Memorial Chapel. She was buried nearby. Small cards with a humble prayer were passed out to all those who attended.
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