David was my hero, I’ll miss him so much.. please tell someone if you’re feeling low
FAMILY’S POIGNANT PLEA
A BRAVE mum who lost her teenage son to depression has issued a plea for other young Scots to speak out about their mental health.
Letitia Farrell told how her son David had lost his fight for life in hospital on June 5 after being found at his home in Penilee, Glasgow, three days before.
The 18-year-old, who was described as a “brother” to many, had shared a haunting post about depression on his social media page just hours before being discovered.
Heartbroken mum Letitia believes her son’s death was a “tragic accident” and a “cry for help” that went terribly wrong.
The 41-year-old urged other young people to talk about their feelings so no other family has to go through the same devastating loss.
She said: “Please contact somebody that has been through it and speak to them.
“Don’t think you’re being a burden. Don’t think that they’re going to laugh at you.
“Find somebody you’re comfortable with and just let it out. Don’t wait around and hope it will get better because you’re worth more than that.
“You’re not worthless. You don’t realise how much you’re loved and that you’re just in a bad place at the moment.
“You need to remember that things can only get better from there. You’re worth fighting for.
BY SARAH VESTY
You’re meant to be here and you do have a purpose in life. Even if you’ve hit rock bottom, there’s only one way left and that’s up.”
Letitia believes David struggled to speak about his own battle with depression, sparked by the death of several loved ones, as he did not want to upset her.
She now wants to see better mental health education in schools – particularly focusing on primary pupils before they move into high school.
“That’s what David wanted and that’s what I want. My plan is to reach out to kids to try and help. I want somebody to go into primary schools and talk to them about mental health and depression so they know that it’s OK not to be OK.”
Talking about her son’s death, she added: “Being left behind is what keeps me up at night. There’s so many questions. Did he think I thought he was a screw-up? But he wasn’t. I was so proud of him.
“But I think that’s where the depression comes in and it twists it all up. I just want to give him a hug especially with this case because we know he didn’t want to die.
“He just couldn’t tell me how he was feeling so with a drink in him, he was trying to show me.
“The night before I found him, he got back together with his girlfriend and he had been wanting that for a long time.
“He had planned his birthday with the boys as well. He had sent for clothes for himself for his birthday.
“He didn’t want to die, he wanted me to catch him.
“It was a cry for help that went too far. I know
David didn’t mean to do it and I want to give him a big cuddle. “In the hospital, that’s what I did. I just cradled him and told him I wasn’t angry with him. “I was lying with my hand on his heart when they started turning the machines off. As soon as the medication was stopped, I looked up and he was gone. The last thing to go when you’re dying is your hearing, so we got all his friends to send recordings on the phone and we played them to him.” Paying tribute to her special boy, Letitia told how David had always been a hero who cared deeply about those around him. She was especially proud of him for taking one young man under his wing after seeing him being bullied. The pair went on to become very good friends, with David helping teach the boy English and learning Arabic in return.
Letitia added: “When his grandad died in front of him, he was four. He ran right into the phone and rang 999 telling them his grandad had fallen and banged his head.
“They said they needed to trace the call for the address but he told them it straight away. He was my hero. He was amazing. I’m really going to miss him.”
Letitia has issued a heartfelt thank-you to the Penilee community, David’s friends and particularly Evelyn Flannery, for all their love and support.
Childhood pal David Glatley, 16, who is planning a fundraising memorial football match next month, added: “With David, there was never a single day when he didn’t look happy or where he was a wee bit down.
“It’s hard to take, especially in the circumstances of who David was as a person.
“People that are the happiest are often the people that this happens to and it’s heartbreaking for everybody.
“We don’t want David’s name to mean nothing, that it was just another death, we want it to mean something to everybody but particularly to people our age.”
You can seek help by contacting Samaritans 24/7 free on 116 123 or by visiting Samaritans.org