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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Tuesday will mark the sixth anniversary of Akacia Klick&#8217;s death, and it&#8217;s still not known why the 21-year-old died.</p><p>Her parents, Jim and Janet Klick of Kingston, still struggle with the whys and how comes of Akacia&#8217;s death. They and their daughter Sara, now 24, have been through counseling. And they have counseled each other.</p><p>&#8220;You never get over it,&#8221; Janet said. &#8220;You learn to live with it.&#8221;</p><p>Akacia was never sick, they said. Then one day Jim came home from work and he could hear Akacia moaning in her room on the second floor of their South Dawes Avenue home. Akacia was on her hands and knees and she was non-responsive, Jim said.</p><p>He called 911. Akacia was taken to the hospital. Within two weeks, she was dead.</p><p>An autopsy was performed with no clear determination of what caused her death. While she was in the hospital, the Klicks said she was &#8220;tested for everything.&#8221;</p><p>Nothing was found to be wrong. Jim said it was &#8220;an unknown blood disorder.&#8221;</p><p>Losing a child is something most cannot fathom. The old saying is that a parent should never have to bury a child.</p><p>To those who have had to endure this experience, the best we can do for them is be there with open arms, ears and hearts.</p><p>Akacia was a beautiful girl, just look at her pictures. She was a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in baking and pastry arts. She was talented. She was fun.</p><p>To Akacia, it was &#8220;family above all.&#8221; It was her motto.</p><p>After she died, Akacia&#8217;s parents decided to get tattoos to celebrate the inspiration their daughter had left them. That idea turned into a tattoo party, with many family members and friends getting tattoos as well.</p><p>Janet&#8217;s tattoo is on her left arm. It&#8217;s a picture of Hello Kitty. On top it says &#8220;Heaven&#8217;s Little Baker,&#8221; and on the bottom is Akacia&#8217;s actual signature.</p><p>Jim&#8217;s tattoo is on the back of his shaved head. &#8220;Family Above All&#8221; is written across the top over a Penn State logo and Akacia&#8217;s name and dates of birth and death.</p><p>These tattoos are very special. The ink used by the artist was mixed with some of Akacia&#8217;s ashes. It was something Jim and Janet wanted to do.</p><p>Sara&#8217;s tattoo is on her left torso. It&#8217;s a cross, a replica of the cross Akacia always wore that was a gift from her grandmother. Sara now wears the cross. And &#8220;Family Above All&#8221; is written around the cross.</p><p>This is a close family. Closer now, perhaps, than ever before. The Klicks keep photos of Akacia around the house. Her room today remains how it was when she was living. It&#8217;s not that they can&#8217;t let go; it&#8217;s more that they want her around in any way possible.</p><p>Knowing how Akacia died would help them understand. Having that knowledge would give them some peace. It would help them answer the questions that follow them every day: Why our daughter? What was it that took her from us?</p><p>The Klicks will always struggle for those answers. When Akacia was stricken, the family never thought it could be anything serious.</p><p>They felt whatever it was would go away. The doctors would figure it out. They would fix her.</p><p>Jim and Janet went through a period of anger. The grieving process is never-ending. The void can never be filled.</p><p>Akacia is still around in other ways. Her kidneys were donated &#8212; to two recipients. The Klicks don&#8217;t know who received them. They&#8217;ve been told both are doing well. Some day, they said, they might try to meet them.</p><p>For now, they are content to know that their loss was somebody else&#8217;s gain. That their little girl, even in death, has allowed others to live.</p><p>As far as getting over Akacia&#8217;s death, that won&#8217;t happen.</p><p>&#8220;You never get over it,&#8221; Janet said. &#8220;You just learn to live with it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I just wish there was some way we could find out what happened,&#8221; Jim said.</p><p>Sara put things in perspective.</p><p>&#8220;It could happen to any of us,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You never know when your day will come. All we can do now is cope with it and make the best of our lives.&#8221;</p><p>The family was left with some staggering bills after Akacia died. They have held fundraisers to help pay off college loans and hospital bills. A fund is established at PNC Bank for anyone wishing to donate.</p><p>The Klick home is filled with love. Two cats, Madison and Molly, greet you at the door. Sadie, a 9-year-old Rottweiler, demands attention. She&#8217;s a gentle soul who makes instant friends.</p><p>Jim, Janet and Sara are as close as a family can be. They know what each other has gone through and they will forever be there for each other.</p><p>And they all wonder what Akacia&#8217;s life would have been like. How far she would have gone in her career. How many grandchildren she would have given them.</p><p>They had 21 years with Akacia that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. They feel for others who have experienced such loss.</p><p>Life does go on. Sometimes in different ways &#8212; pictures, memories, storytelling, tattoos.</p><p>And sometimes closure never comes, nor should it.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Columnshot9.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JanetKlicktattoo2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Janet Klick, Kingston, shows a tattoo she has on her arm in memory of her daughter Akacia Kick , who died six years ago. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JanetKlicktattoo2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Janet Klick, Kingston, shows a tattoo she has on her arm in memory of her daughter Akacia Kick , who died six years ago. </caption1><photoCredit1>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JimmyKlicktattoo2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Jim Klick, Kingston, has a tattoo on his head in memory of his 21 year-old daughter Akacia Klick, who died mysteriously in 2009. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_JimmyKlicktattoo2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Jim Klick, Kingston, has a tattoo on his head in memory of his 21 year-old daughter Akacia Klick, who died mysteriously in 2009. </caption2><photoCredit2>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_SaraKlicktattoo2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sara Klick, Shavertown, has a tattoo in memory of her sister, Akacia, tattooed on her torso. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_SaraKlicktattoo2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Sara Klick, Shavertown, has a tattoo in memory of her sister, Akacia, tattooed on her torso. </caption3><photoCredit3>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_AkaciaKlick2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sara Klick kisses her sister, Akacia Klick, in this family picture. Akacia died mysteriously in 2009. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_AkaciaKlick2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Sara Klick kisses her sister, Akacia Klick, in this family picture. Akacia died mysteriously in 2009. </caption4><photoCredit4>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Akacia Klick commemorated in body art</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

In Focus: Tattoos help Kingston family deal with loss of 21-year-old daughter