Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘I ask the teenagers to think of their own mums’
After losing son at 17 years old, drugs message is taken straight to school
After experiencing the death of a child, grieving parents could certainly be forgiven for withdrawing from society somewhat while coming to terms with what is universally described as “a mum’s worst nightmare”. Kim Webster lost her son, Canterbury College student William Horley, aged just 17 last year, after he took the painkiller Tramadol and fell unconscious, before being rushed to hospital where, tragically, he couldn’t be revived.
In a bid to warn others of the dangers, and paint a picture of how difficult her life has been since his death 16 months ago, Kim has been telling her story to teenagers in schools across the county, as part of the Kenward Trust charity’s Think Differently campaign.
“They are really shocked when I tell them what I’ve had to do in that time,” she said.
“I ask them to think of their own mums, putting them in that position, saying ‘this is what your choice could lead to’. “No one realises how much you have to do when someone dies.”
She explains the horror of having to identify the body, deciding whether to bury or cremate the child she gave birth to, cared for and nurtured, on top of also having to deal with the police, the coroner’s office and in many cases the media as well. Sometimes when a young group dabbles with drugs, there can be a reluctance to call the emergency services through fear of getting into trouble themselves, but Kim - who lives in Herne Bay - is keen to hammer home the message that doing so can save lives. “Will didn’t want it to happen, it was just a naive moment of stupidity,” she said.
“I’m trying to tell them they’re not invincible, it can happen to anyone.
“I completely understand that you don’t really listen to your parents growing up, you think you’re old enough and that you’re going to make your own choices.
“If someone passed you something in a bag, you wouldn’t want to eat it, but once they have it in their mind that they want to try it, there’s no going back. Is it really worth that 15-minute buzz to make the wrong choice?”
Will, a 6ft 6in fitness fanatic, had dreams of joining the Army prior, which is often referenced in feedback to Kim’s talks. “One head teacher told me I have Will’s life to lead - they said ‘he was being trained to save lives and you’ve got to carry on saving lives’. That blew me away.”
‘Will didn’t want it to happen, it was just a naive moment of stupidity. I’m trying to tell them they’re not invincible’