A father has revealed he was forced to listen on in horror as his two children performed CPR on his youngest son after the teen ended his life.
Cohen Fink had been battling depression and anxiety for 12 months leading up to his death on June 4, 2019.
The 17-year-old was undertaking his final exams with dreams of becoming a pilot when his two older siblings, Kylah and Jai, found him unconscious in the family shed in Port Kennedy, Western Australia.
Cohen’s father, Christian, penned an incredibly raw open letter to mark the one-year anniversary of his son’s death, in which he re-lived the moment he realised something was terribly wrong.
Christian was more than 1,000km away, working in the mines north of Leonora in central Western Australia as a fly-in-fly-out employee when the news hit.
After he received an incomprehensible phone call from his wife, Pamella, he called Jai, who tearfully explained Cohen had ‘left a note and [was] missing’.
Cohen was honest and kind, and had dreams of becoming a pilot when he was old enough, his family told Daily Mail Australia
Cohen’s father, Christian, penned an open letter to mark the one-year anniversary of his son’s death reminiscing on the moment he realised something was terribly wrong
He listened as Jai found Cohen’s body in the shed attached to the garage out the back and called 000.
‘They were giving him instructions to perform CPR,’ he said. ‘Listening to Jai try to save Cohen’s life was agonising.
‘Being trained in CPR, I knew how much energy it takes… I told my daughter instead to run to our neighbours and see if any of them knew CPR.
‘I could hear every compression over the phone, and every breath that both my daughter and eldest son gave Cohen.’
Mr Fink said he would never forget the feeling of hope when his daughter told emergency services colour was coming back to Cohen’s skin.
‘Being first-aid-trained, to me that meant they were doing everything perfectly,’ he recalled.
Mr Fink, along with both of his children, were pleading with Cohen to keep fighting until an ambulance arrived and took over CPR.
Cohen’s brother (left) performed CPR on his lifeless body until ambulance could arrive. Mr Fink was forced to listen over the phone as he made his way back from work
Cohen had dreams of becoming a pilot and first manned a plane when he was just 15 years old
‘My daughter kept saying in a broken voice ”come on Cohen”, as my eldest son counted compressions, all whilst I was listening from 1,000km away and completely hopeless.
‘I kept praising my eldest son… Days later his knees were still red raw from rubbing on the concrete [as he gave CPR].’
Mr Fink was on the next flight home, but it would still take him hours to arrive, and he kept in constant contact with his children whenever he found a spot of reception on the drive to the airport.
He was on the phone again when the doctor gave his family the terrible news that Cohen had not survived.
‘My legs just gave way. I was on the ground gasping for air… and I said to Kylah ”you and Jai did so good. I’m really proud of you two”,’ Mr Fink said.
Cohen’s death coincided with his parents’ 24th wedding anniversary, and Mr Fink was on his way home to celebrate with his wife when he got the life changing call.
They told Daily Mail Australia while they knew they were biased, their son was ‘good and loyal and honest’.
His older sister stayed on the phone to her father and tried to get help from neighbours once they found Cohen’s body (pictured, the siblings when they were toddlers)
Right before his death, Cohen sat school exams and scribbled over answer papers (pictured)
‘He just had a calming presence, very determined and independent… I always said if you wanted the truth, you just had to ask Cohen.’
But about 12 months before his death, the then-16-year-old began struggling at school and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
He saw a psychologist fortnightly right up until he passed away.
Following the diagnosis, his parents emailed his school three times to explain his circumstances before a school official responded to them, promising to schedule him in with a counsellor.
The family aren’t sure if this promise ever came to fruition, but they’re certain even if it did, the school did not pass on the message to his teachers.
‘It was obvious none of his teachers had been made aware of Cohen’s mental health… They told us they were unaware.
‘It was frustrating they didn’t take our disclosures seriously.’
His family believe the exam papers were a clear indication that his mental health was deteriorating – including the highlighted passage, which appears to be written backwards
Prior to his death, Cohen sat several school exams where he scribbled on the answer sheets and didn’t attempt questions. It was a sign, his parents think, that his mental health was deteriorating.
He’d never had a bad report card and did well in school. Despite the out-of-character incident, teachers didn’t immediately report it to his family.
‘It was obvious he was in severe mental distress… He was coming home from his exams telling us that he thought he did okay… We had no idea,’ they said.
The family was completely unaware he was contemplating taking his own life, and are now demanding a coronial inquiry into Cohen’s death.
In particular, they want to assess the actions of Cohen’s school, both before and after his death, in dealing with trauma, grief and medical advice.
‘[Cohen]s cohort were told to use the long weekend, just three days after his death, to get over their grief for a fresh start the next week… It has been disappointing and only confounded to our grief.’
His family have since created a Facebook page called Thumbs Up For Cohen to help raise awareness about his death and spread their message.
A fundraiser set up for the family has reached $10,000.
Lifeline on 13 11 14
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
‘It was obvious he was in severe mental distress… He was coming home from his exams telling us that he thought he did okay… We had no idea,’ they said of the exam papers