A heartbroken mother has shared tragic pictures of her son, taken just moments before he died after having a ‘bad reaction’ to an ecstasy pill.
Sixteen-year-old Reece Murphy died this Monday after taking the class A drug. His mother, Sarah Lush, has shared the photos in the hope that other young people and their parents will become more aware of the dangers posed by drugs.
Reece was taken ill at a house in Taunton, Somerset, on Sunday before he was rushed off to the hospital.
The images show him hooked up to life support machines with his face covered in blood.
His grieving mother, Sarah Lush, said that her son was ‘kind, funny and caring’ and added: “My heart is empty, I want to wake up and it’s all a dream. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.
“I’m never going to hear his voice or laugh again. It’s all surreal at the moment and I’m not ready to accept it.”
Once Reece was taken ill he was rushed to Musgrove Park Hospital – Sarah praised the efforts of the staff at the hospital. Reece was about to start attending a college near his home where he lived with his mother in Dorchester.
As well as Reece, a 30-year-old man was also rushed to the hospital. He is thought to have also taken the drug.
Lush continued: “A majority of you may think drugs are all good and fun and games but at the end of the day they’re not, because it can end someone’s life, just like poor Reece’s.
“Reece had done it a few times before and was okay, so he thought he was safe, but you just don’t know.
“Please don’t take drugs, they ruin lives and families.”
She continued: “He took a tablet with his friends. There was something in it that had a bad reaction – his body didn’t like it.
“It shut down his organs, one by one. He had two nurses working on him 24 hours a day.
“They never left his side or stopped fighting for him for a second. In spite of that, Reece just kept getting worse and in the end, there was nothing more they could do.
“It would have been cruel to him because all the medication he was on it started to take its toll on his body.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help to pay for Reece’s funeral expenses. So far it has already raised £3,350 of a £3,500 goal.
A police spokesperson said: “We’re investigating an incident in Taunton in which one person died and another was taken to hospital after consuming a substance, believed to be MDMA.
“A 16-year-old boy located by paramedics in Wheatley Crescent in the early hours of Saturday (June 30) was taken to hospital but sadly died two days later.
“A 30-year-old man was also admitted to hospital over the weekend after being taken ill after consuming a substance – also believed to be MDMA.”
