The parents of a Birmingham teenager who died while on a trip to the cinema have paid tribute to their ‘bubbly, caring and tough’ daughter.
Kasey-Lei Greene, from Sutton Coldfield, collapsed and died at the Vox Cinema at Yas Mall in the United Arab Emirates on September 4.
The 13-year-old, who had lived in Abu Dhabi with her family for 14 months, gave her dad one last hug before leaving with a friend at 5.30pm.
She collapsed an hour later while watching the film, but could not be saved by medics at the cinema or at the hospital.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Kasey is believed to have died from cardiac arrest.
Dad Marc, mum Manda and brother Kian returned to the UK for Kasey’s funeral last Friday, October 3.
More than 600 people turned out to pay tribute to the youngster during the funeral procession, which was lined with pink and black ribbons.
Marc, 37, let daughter Kasey go to Vox Cinema with a friend because she had been ‘good around the house with her brother Kian’.
He recalled their heartbreaking last embrace when he last saw her alive.
Marc told BirminghamLive: ‘She just grabbed me and said to her friend, “Quick, take a picture of me and my dad”. She didn’t check it.
‘She held me so tight, like she knew that was the last time I would ever feel or hear her voice again.
‘Normally, she would plan it and add filters and redo it if it wasn’t right – but not this time. That hug blows my mind.’
An hour later, the dad heard Kasey had collapsed, but despite quick medical assistance, it was too late.
He said: ‘Aria called me from Kasey’s phone and said “Kasey’s passed out”. I literally ran to the car. The cinema is not even half a mile from my house.
‘She had passed out in the cinema watching the movie.
‘Over there, they are on it straight away. They had a defibrillator and an ambulance crew had come in 10 minutes and had a machine on her.
‘I was literally screaming, holding her hand. I let them do what they could, but I could see she had gone.
‘Officially, her death is a cardiac arrest. She had had a few issues before.’
The Greene family had moved to the Emirates for a ‘better life’ for Kasey and Kian, with its capital being one of the safest cities in the world.
The parents described Kasey, who was a massive Aston Villa fan, as ‘bubbly, very outgoing but also dippy’.
Marc said: ‘She had very different circles of friends and did try and bring people together.
‘The priest at her funeral said she was sent as an influencer and influenced people to come together.
‘He said the whole time he has been at that church, he had never seen that turnout. There were 600 there or more.’
Mum Manda, 36, was back in the UK arranging the funeral for her own mum when Kasey collapsed.
She described how her daughter ‘drew people to her.’
‘One girl came up and said, “You’re really beautiful”. She went out and just found people.
‘If she put her mind to doing something she’d do it, 100%.’
The family have now begun a fundraiser to honour Kasey, which will pay for water wells in Africa in Kasey’s name.
They are looking to buy three £1,500 pumps in Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon to help provide for crops there for the next 30 years.
The Greene’s also hope to sponsor 10 £150 drinking water pumps.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.