Mother shares chilling last words of bullied son, 15, while he lay in hospital after taking overdose

The mother of a tragic teenager who took his own life after suffering ‘relentless bullying’ has shared his agonising last words.

Julie Steward, 53, from Tonyrefail, near Pontypridd, South Wales, told how Simon Brooks, who died on April 1 in 2014, was lying in hospital after taking a cocktail of medication when he asked her: ‘Mum, am I going to die?’

A suicide note was later found at their family home, but Julie told how her son told her he regretted his drastic actions and ‘wished he hadn’t done it’. 

Julie said Simon suffered at the hands of bullies throughout his childhood and she is now campaigning with other parents across the UK to push the government into introducing new laws that ensure complaints are never ignored to avoid similar tragedies.

Julie Steward, 53, from Tonyrefail, near Pontypridd, South Wales, has shared her son’s agonising last words to her

Simon Brooks, pictured, who died on April 1 in 2014, was lying in hospital after taking a cocktail of medication when he asked Julie: 'Mum, am I going to die?'

Simon Brooks, pictured, who died on April 1 in 2014, was lying in hospital after taking a cocktail of medication when he asked Julie: ‘Mum, am I going to die?’

She added that six years on she still feels the pain she felt the day Simon died, admitting it ‘feels like it happened yesterday’. 

‘For the first 18 months, I was like a zombie – but I was getting by,’ Julie told Wales Online. 

‘I ended up having a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. But I need to make sure that Simon’s death was not in vain and that bullying is taken seriously.’

Julie described her son as a ‘beautiful’ and ‘flamboyant character’ who was also very articulate and sensitive.

She said he didn’t always understand social situations and admitted he was more comfortable socialising with adults than people his own age, which she believes made him an easy target. 

Julie described her son as a 'beautiful' and 'flamboyant character' who was also very articulate and sensitive

Julie described her son as a ‘beautiful’ and ‘flamboyant character’ who was also very articulate and sensitive

Julie said six years since Simon's death, she still feels the pain she felt the day he died, admitting it 'feels like it happened yesterday'

Julie said six years since Simon’s death, she still feels the pain she felt the day he died, admitting it ‘feels like it happened yesterday’

While Simon did have a group of close friends, Julie said he was bullied from as early as primary school, where classmates stole his bag and called him names.   

By the time he got to secondary school it escalated to physical violence.

‘It was relentless. He couldn’t get away from it,’ she said. ‘On the day he took his own life, he’d had a fall out. It was over something trivial, but I think it had built up inside and this was what tipped him over the edge.’

The proud mother said Simon loved learning and favoured subjects like design and technology. 

Just before his death, Julie told how they had agreed to let Simon be home-schooled, as he dreaded going to school in Pontyclun.   

Julie said Simon didn't always understand social situations and admitted he was more comfortable socialising with adults than people his own age, which she believes made him an easy target for bullies

Julie said Simon didn’t always understand social situations and admitted he was more comfortable socialising with adults than people his own age, which she believes made him an easy target for bullies

‘Every Sunday night he would beg me not to send him to school,’ Julie said previously.

‘During the school holidays he would count the days and hours until he had to go back. He was so brave he used to go every day and try to stick up for himself.’

On March 28 in 2014, Simon left school early and wrote a goodbye letter in the notes of his mobile phone which said: ‘I can’t cope any more.’

Julie told how he’d been messaging a friend and told her what he’d done, saying he ‘wanted to be with God’. She managed to find out where he lived and phoned the police.

When Julie arrived home, having been out with friends, she saw the emergency services outside and ran inside the house, where she found her son sat at the dining table talking to paramedics. 

Simon, pictured aged two, with Julie, far right, and friends Len and Pat Gordon, got to the point where he was scared to go to school due to the bullying he received

Simon, pictured aged two, with Julie, far right, and friends Len and Pat Gordon, got to the point where he was scared to go to school due to the bullying he received

Julie recalled how nobody thought it was serious at first, as there was ‘no sense of urgency’ and they waited an hour for the ambulance to arrive.

‘Nobody thought it was a big deal because he was conscious and was cooperating with the emergency services. Looking back, I wish I had dragged him into the bathroom and made him vomit,’ she said.   

Simon was taken to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital that evening and transferred to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales two days later, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Julie said Simon was lying in his hospital bed when he told her what he’d done was stupid and he didn’t want to die.

On March 28 in 2014, Simon left school early and wrote a goodbye letter in the notes of his mobile phone which said: 'I can't cope any more'

On March 28 in 2014, Simon left school early and wrote a goodbye letter in the notes of his mobile phone which said: ‘I can’t cope any more’

‘He didn’t want to kill himself,’ she recalled. ‘He was telling me that he was sorry and that he wished he hadn’t done it and that he’d been stupid.’

At that point Julie believed her son would make a recovery, but when a nurse became concerned about his low haemoglobin levels, the room became full of doctors and it ‘all happened at once’.

Simon was transferred to the ICU and put in an induced coma, with Julie told to make plans to say goodbye. He died two days later.

An inquest into his death concluded the medical cause of death was multiple organ dysfunction, caused by an overdose of several drugs. 

Julie, who has two other children, said she feels like a part of her has been ripped away.

Next week mother-of-three Julie, along with other families from across the UK who have lost children to suicide or had children seriously harmed as a consequence of alleged failures to address bullying, will travel to Westminster to meet Ministers and MPs. Pictured: Simon, right, with his brother Michael and sister Stephanie

Next week mother-of-three Julie, along with other families from across the UK who have lost children to suicide or had children seriously harmed as a consequence of alleged failures to address bullying, will travel to Westminster to meet Ministers and MPs. Pictured: Simon, right, with his brother Michael and sister Stephanie

Julie said Simon was lying in his hospital bed when he told her what he'd done was stupid and he didn't want to die

Julie said Simon was lying in his hospital bed when he told her what he’d done was stupid and he didn’t want to die

‘Simon and I were incredibly close, we had a bond that I can’t describe and I will always feel the loss and the pain that comes with losing him,’ she told Wales Online. 

Next week Julie, along with other families from across the UK who have lost children to suicide or had children seriously harmed as a consequence of alleged failures to address bullying, will travel to Westminster to meet Ministers and MPs.

They will present a case to the Government for changes to be made to laws and policies to ensure bullying and violence complaints can no longer be ignored.

For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 116123.

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