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Tragic!

Breast-surgery complications kill West Boca High cheerleader

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By KEVIN DEUTSCH

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Stephanie Kuleba had a charmed life: captain of the varsity cheerleading squad at West Boca High, a nearly perfect grade-point average, good looks and a ticket to the University of Florida, where she would start her journey toward becoming a medical doctor.

Her friends said she was "perfect," so when Kuleba died Saturday of complications from breast augmentation surgery, none of them could understand how the girl whose success in life "was a sure thing" could perish in such a strange and devastating fashion.

Memorial information: Visitations for Stephanie Kuleba will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. today at Babione Funeral Home, 10060 Calle Comercio, in suburban Boca Raton. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Jude Catholic Church, 21689 Toledo Road, in suburban Boca Raton.

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"She was a role model for a lot of people," said friend and classmate Vicky Goldring, 16. "She was incredibly smart. She wanted to help people. She was just a happy 18-year-old girl."

While no official cause of death was released by authorities or Kuleba's family, many of her friends said she suffered a severe reaction to anesthesia given to her during a breast augmentation procedure Friday night.

Paramedics were called to an outpatient surgery center at 1905 Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton and rushed Kuleba to Delray Medical Center, where she died Saturday.

"The surgery itself was very personal," said Benny Perlman, a friend of Kuleba's who spoke on behalf of her grieving family Monday night. "She passed away from complications during surgery.

"She was a wonderful person and she changed all our lives."

Kuleba was beloved by classmates at West Boca High, more than 400 of whom gathered outside the school Sunday night for a candlelight vigil. They hung Kuleba's shining silver pompons and cheerleading T-shirt on the fence outside the school and left flowers, pictures and handwritten notes beneath the display.

One note had lyrics to Hey Jude, a Beatles song that Kuleba loved.

"Take a sad song and make it better," the note read.

In her reserved "senior" parking spot, the one where she parked her white Lexus every school day, friends placed more flowers, teddy bears and pictures.

"It's hard to believe she's gone," said classmate Vanessa Villegas 16. "She just made everybody's day by having a good attitude about life. Today was a hard day for a lot of people."

Organizers charged $1 for each candle at the vigil - money that will be given to Kuleba's family for expenses.

With her long blond hair and shy smile, Kuleba charmed people from an early age, friends said. A talented athlete, her path toward cheerleading began with competitive gymnastics.

In 2000, National Gymnastics of Boca Raton took 30 of its students, including Kuleba, to one of the nation's biggest gymnastics invitationals - the Gasparilla Gymnastics Classic in Tampa. Competing in bars, beam, floor and vault against others in her age group and skill level, an 11-year-old Kuleba placed first all-around.

"She was very talented," said Leila Milgrim, 16, a friend of Kuleba's. "She was a great athlete. And she had all of these other things going for her, too. She did everything well."

Kuleba had brains to match her beauty, friends said, earning a GPA above 4.0, acing advanced placement courses and earning an acceptance letter from the University of Florida.

She was excited about taking pre-med courses in Gainesville. But the day she really looked forward to was in May, when she was to go to her senior prom for one last hurrah with her friends.

She'd just bought a stunning dress and made plans with a date.

"It was a great time in her life," said friend and classmate Larraine Saavedra, 16.

Cheerleading and academics made for a rigorous schedule but Kuleba still spent three years working an after-school waitressing job at a Rotelli's restaurant.

On her days off she would often stop by the restaurant with friends and order her favorite dish: a Malibu salad with fresh mozzarella.

Her name is still scribbled on the Rotelli's schedule, slated to work after school Thursday.

"She was fantastic and she stood out, because of how positive and friendly she was," said Cathy Bilotti, 37, who owns the Rotelli's. "She had a glow about her that attracted and soothed people."

Like many of Kuleba's friends, Bilotti said she had heard her employee's death stemmed from complications during surgery.

"If you knew her, you wouldn't think she needed that," said Bilotti. "She's perfect."

In recent years, doctors have performed an increasing number of procedures such as breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks on young women and even girls as young as 14.

The enormous popularity of reality TV shows like Extreme Makeover have fueled the desire of adolescent girls to alter their bodies permanently, and they are finding more surgeons willing to oblige them. Breast implants and liposuction are now bestowed by parents as graduation or birthday gifts. Some doctors say they have performed breast augmentations on Baby Boomer mothers and their teenage daughters.

From 2002 to 2003, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of women and girls 18 and younger who got breast implants nearly tripled, from 3,872 to 11,326.

Among all age groups, cosmetic implants have skyrocketed in popularity, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

Last year, according to the ASPS, about 247,000 women got implants for augmentation, compared with 32,000 in 1992.

Anesthesia is a way to control pain using medication. In rare cases, allergic reaction to local or general anesthetic can create health risks or even cause death.

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Tragic? Are you fuc#king kidding me? Tragic is a valorvictorian being killed by a drunk driver. Not some insecure high school cheerleader dying because she thought she needed bigger titties.

she did have a near perfect gpa mr sensitive. I am not a fan of elective surgery for anyone and this reiterates why but I'd still have to label it as tragic.

for the youngins these days, it seems breast implants are as common as handbags for accessories.

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she did have a near perfect gpa mr sensitive. I am not a fan of elective surgery for anyone and this reiterates why but I'd still have to label it as tragic.

for the youngins these days, it seems breast implants are as common as handbags for accessories.

I am sensitive to a point but this is ridiculous. Even her friends said that she didn't need them. Dying because of an unneccesary surgery is not tragic. Any parent who gives these things to their kids as a gift should have a pair of them implanted in their foreheads.

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Alk, go visit Boca Raton someday. Honest to Gawd, the pressure to be a beautiful and cool is CRAZY! The priviledge that you see down that is nauseating sometimes too. Shoot - the chick drove a Lexus and and was having a $8K boob job.....rather doubt you earn that kind of cake witha part-time waitressing gig - in between being an athlete and an a+ student.....which makes me wonder why exactly are they charging $1 per candle at a vigil only to give it to a family for funeral expenses? I may be assuming wrong here - but she drove a lexus, was getting a boob job and lived in Boca - I'm thinking the family can more than pay for a funeral. Wouldn't the money be better served going towards a scholarship? Something that would memorialize this gal forever? Okay, I'll stop with the judgement here. Any young death is a tragedy....unless, of course, it's these two pieces of human filth. Their death would be a blessing (I am well aware of how awful that sounds). Read the link below for the horrific details.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/03/police_file_new.html

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Alk, go visit Boca Raton someday. Honest to Gawd, the pressure to be a beautiful and cool is CRAZY! The priviledge that you see down that is nauseating sometimes too. Shoot - the chick drove a Lexus and and was having a $8K boob job.....rather doubt you earn that kind of cake witha part-time waitressing gig - in between being an athlete and an a+ student.....which makes me wonder why exactly are they charging $1 per candle at a vigil only to give it to a family for funeral expenses? I may be assuming wrong here - but she drove a lexus, was getting a boob job and lived in Boca - I'm thinking the family can more than pay for a funeral. Wouldn't the money be better served going towards a scholarship? Something that would memorialize this gal forever? Okay, I'll stop with the judgement here. Any young death is a tragedy....unless, of course, it's these two pieces of human filth. Their death would be a blessing (I am well aware of how awful that sounds). Read the link below for the horrific details.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/03/police_file_new.html

it's sad. this girl had everything going for her but all she cared about was "being hot." so frickin overrated. i see women who are highly successful, brilliant attorneys and entrepreneurs but are nevertheless highly, highly insecure over looks. it's sad. someone conducted a poll once and something like 90% of women said they would give up 10 IQ points to increase in attractiveness.

ps: the parents should be horsewhipped.

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it's sad. this girl had everything going for her but all she cared about was "being hot." so frickin overrated. i see women who are highly successful, brilliant attorneys and entrepreneurs but are nevertheless highly, highly insecure over looks. it's sad. someone conducted a poll once and something like 90% of women said they would give up 10 IQ points to increase in attractiveness.

ps: the parents should be horsewhipped.

JGB, women are constantly being bombarded by images they are supposed to aspire too. They are constantly witness to men who - by nature - are visual and place value and praise on what they percieve as beautiful and attractive. I don't see/hear to many ads where men are with an average girl, dressed in jeans and t-shirt saying "holy crap, this chick is sooooo smart....wooo-hoooo....'gotta get me some of that!" Even the most secure of women have their bouts of insecurity sometimes. It's just the way it is. This, however, is extreme and I agree, the parents should be horsewhipped.

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JGB, women are constantly being bombarded by images they are supposed to aspire too. They are constantly witness to men who - by nature - are visual and place value and praise on what they percieve as beautiful and attractive. I don't see/hear to many ads where men are with an average girl, dressed in jeans and t-shirt saying "holy crap, this chick is sooooo smart....wooo-hoooo....'gotta get me some of that!" Even the most secure of women have their bouts of insecurity sometimes. It's just the way it is. This, however, is extreme and I agree, the parents should be horsewhipped.

women are ten times more critical of other women than men are. after all, you have said men will sleep with anything. and we basically will.

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Tragic? Are you fuc#king kidding me? Tragic is a valorvictorian being killed by a drunk driver. Not some insecure high school cheerleader dying because she thought she needed bigger titties.

well, this could have tragic ramifications if all the other insecure 18 year olds start getting scared off of getting bolt-ons for fear of death.

but in all seriousness, yeah, it sucks when someone so young passes, and it is even more upsetting when it is from something self inflicted for no very good reason like a boob job for an already pretty girl.

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women are ten times more critical of other women than men are. after all, you have said men will sleep with anything. and we basically will.

Most men will sleep with anything - especially when there is large amounts of alcohol involved. It's like you drink your Super-Ego away and you're all testosterone driven ID.

That's not the point I was making. The girl wanted to be more desireable, more of an "it" girl so she could be what others aspired to, and men desired to, and family bragged about, therefore making herself feel better. It's quite a phenonmenon amongst the myspace generation. Which perplexes me ..... aren't these the same kids that didn't have scores kept in their little league games?

:P

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Most men will sleep with anything - especially when there is large amounts of alcohol involved. It's like you drink your Super-Ego away and you're all testosterone driven ID.

:P

lol, it's true. i agree that society is effed up when it comes to this hypersexualization of our youth. myspace and youtube have created a disgusting avenue for whorish (men and women) behavior that devalues true chemistry and attraction. everything is just another excuse to whore out and "act hot"-- halloween, proms, online webpages. it's sickening and disgusting and i can only hope there will be a major backlash-- soon. parents who "go with the flow" and let society raise their kids are making a disasterous decision, imho. don't let the lowest common denominator dictate your kids' behavior. teach them to live up to a higher standard.

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someone conducted a poll once and something like 90% of women said they would give up 10 IQ points to increase in attractiveness.

well, in the eyes of some guys (not me) a girl losing 10 iq points would automatically make her more attractive.

In fairness to the dizzy broads who feel they need to go under the knife to make themselves more marketable to the opposite sex, if the procedures for male enhancement were as cheap and had the kind of generally acceptable good results and had the track record of safety as breast augmentation, we all would be walking around with 15 inch hammers....well, you would all be walking around with 15 inch hammers, for me the extra 3 inches wouldn't be worth the cost or time to bother. lol

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well, in the eyes of some guys (not me) a girl losing 10 iq points would automatically make her more attractive.

In fairness to the dizzy broads who feel they need to go under the knife to make themselves more marketable to the opposite sex, if the procedures for male enhancement were as cheap and had the kind of generally acceptable good results and had the track record of safety as breast augmentation, we all would be walking around with 15 inch hammers....well, you would all be walking around with 15 inch hammers, for me the extra 3 inches wouldn't be worth the cost or time to bother. lol

i've dated beautiful dumb women before and can sum them up in one word: B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BOOOOORRRRRRING.

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I am sensitive to a point but this is ridiculous. Even her friends said that she didn't need them. Dying because of an unneccesary surgery is not tragic. Any parent who gives these things to their kids as a gift should have a pair of them implanted in their foreheads.

Even better, jetsrule128's forehead.

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