Dying plea to teens by terminally ill dad whose son died from solvent abuse

Louise Walsh

A terminally ill father who lost his son to solvent abuse a year ago has issued a dying plea to teenagers to stop inhaling gases.

With just weeks, maybe months to live, Dermot Maguire's last wish is to try and save another family going through the same pain as his family have suffered in the last year.

Dermot, his wife Yvonne and his family were left devastated when their 14 year old son Daniel died after inhaling deodorant fumes one year ago this Sunday.

Daniel's younger brother Andrew (14) has since bravely spoken out passionately in his grief, telling his peers that no high is worth the pain they have been plunged into.

Heartbreakingly, just five weeks after Daniel's death, his dad Dermot was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent gruelling treatment which was initially successful.

Tragically, the cancer returned and facing his final months, the incredibly brave man is intent on trying to save someone else's child with a plea to kids to stay away from solvents.

The hugely popular bus driver from Huntstown, Dublin 15 is also urging the Minister for Health and the Minister for Education for more training and awareness on solvent abuse to be rolled out in schools.

On the night of his passing, Dermot had shouted up to his son for the front door key, receiving a reply of 'no problem'.

But when no key was thrown down, Dermot went upstairs thirty seconds later to find Daniel collapsed on his bedroom floor. The panicked dad and older son Adam began CPR until the emergency services arrived.

Despite their best efforts, he was pronounced dead after arrival at the hospital.

With Daniel's first anniversary on September 27th, his terminally ill father said that his dying wish would be to get teenagers to realise how dangerous inhaling solvents is.

"This is still going on and it's still a problem that no-one seems to be highlighting. I want teenagers to talk to each other and speak out if they see someone who is abusing solvents.

"Teenagers listen to each other faster than they listen to their parents.

"We have had kids telling us that they haven't inhaled a solvent since Daniel's death and that was extremely brave of those kids to admit to even doing it in the first place. They put their heads above the parapet despite the fact they might have gotten into trouble.

"If any of your friends are inhaling aerosols or fast gas, speak out. It's better to lose a friend than to bury one.

"We will never know why Daniel inhaled an aerosol that night. We know from post-mortem results that there were no other toxins in his body that night so he wasn't a regular user.

"He was so fit and into his soccer and his gym and his sports and would willingly help other kids around him who were struggling in any way. We will never understand and never get answers and we don't want other families going through this.

""From the last time I talked to Daniel to the time I saw him passed out, was 30 seconds. That's all it took," he said.

He has also urged the government to take steps to create awareness on the issue in schools.

"We met with Education Minister Hildeguard Naugton and the Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and we asked them to put much bigger and more stark warning signs on aerosol bottles such as deodorant.

We also requested that the section on drug and alcohol abuse in post-primary SPHE (Social, Personal and Health Education) books include warnings about solvent abuse dangers as well as training for teachers in this area of abuse.

"Unfortunately we still haven't heard anything back from them on these matters."

Dermot said that he has accepted that he is going to die and although he is beyond heartbroken to leave his wife Yvonne and sons Adam and Andrew behind, he knows he will be reunited with Daniel and they both will always be around his loved ones.

In an emotive video, he said: "I'm going to die soon, coming weeks, maybe months.

"But before I go, I want to get a message out there one last time to parents and teenagers.

"No matter what I'm going through now, nothing compares to the pain of losing a child and it never will. We will never get over that.

"You need to speak to your children about this, whether it be deodorant, fast gas, anything, it's still killing our kids."

Dermot said that the family are aware of other cases in Ireland where children have died from solvent abuse but the families have not made the deaths public.

"If you are doing it, get help. This deodorant and fast gas craze will kill you. It's instant. There is no second chance. The pain left behind is horrific so please talk to each other, you may save a life," he pleaded with teenagers.

Friends of Dermot's have set up a GoFundMe page to help Yvonne with any financial difficulties and ease the worry of any lost income as they concentrate on making memories with Dermot.

The fund has reached over €22k and anyone who wants to donate can do so here.

"I have my funeral planned. If I get to be at Daniel's inquest in the coming weeks and a few days away with my family, I'll be happy. Daniel is waiting for me.

"No father should ever have to carry their son's coffin. Daniel should be here to carry mine."