This page is dedicated to my dear friend Rose McPhee,
her husband Danny, and the story of how they lost their son Leo in such a tragic and senseless way that they did at the age
of 16.
Rose and I became friends about a year ago thru a
group that we both belong to called Peace, which is a support group for families who have lost children by accidents, suicides,
diseases, murder, and etc. We had been talking for several months when one evening Rose shared her story with me of how she lost
her Angel son Leo. As I sat reading his story, tears ran down my face and my heart absolutely broke for Rose. I could feel
her pain in each word that she had written. I had such an overwhelming feeling to share Leo's story on Emily's site, that
I asked Rose if it would be okay and she agreed. Hopefully by doing this, it will reach other families who have teenagers
that may have never heard of this dangerous and deadly game that our teens are playing and it may help save another family
from the heartache and sadness that my dear friend Rose and her family are going thru now.
Here is Leo's story as told by his mother Rose:
Two days before Leo's death, he had asked me, Mom,
have you ever heard of Space Monkey? Of course not, I told him. Was it a new drug, I asked? We had seen changes in Leo's mood
lately, mood swings, marks on his neck(which I thought were teen kisses from his girlfriend Becky), constant headaches, and
bloodshot eyes.(all signs of this game I learned too late)
On Tuesday March 21, 2006, it was like any other
day. Leo called me from school, hi Mom, I love you, could you have cheeseburgers for me after school?(Leo always called me
every day from school twice) He came home from school later, we sat and talked for a while, then he went downstairs to the
computer and I went to get my hair cut.
When I was at the hairdressers I got this horrible
feeling in my stomach & I told Kelly that I had to leave. My hair was soaking wet, but I knew something was bad wrong.
I tried to call Leo.....no answer. I called my husband Danny and asked him where's Leo? Danny told me he was out riding his
bike, but he told me later that I was crying and that I told him that something was wrong. I pulled in our yard, I looked
at the baby barn, it was Leo's favorite place to play his guitar, smoke, & fix his bike and that's where he ended up dying.
I told Danny to call Leo because he wasn't answering me and Danny told me not to worry that he would mow the lawn and then
call him. As I sat in our kitchen drinking a cup of tea, I heard a horrible scream and then Danny yelling as he was heading
toward the kitchen," Leo's hanging, call 911!!"I ran with the phone, called 911, and then threw the phone and ran into the
barn. At first I thought they were being very cruel to me and playing a horrible game. Leo was not hanging, his feet were
touching the floor. Danny was banging on the beam, but I just knew Leo wasn't dead because the chain wasn't around his neck,
it was around his chin. We got Leo down, I held him, Danny did chest compressions, I did Cpr(Maybe I didn't do it right).The
police and firemen took my baby away with his father, I stayed at home, I don't know why but I couldn't even walk. I don't
know where everyone came from, police, neighbors,& family seem to be everywhere. One officer came over to my
bed and told me that Leo didn't make it and that he would take me to him. I don't remember much after that. When my husband
& I got back home, the neighbors had already torn the barn down for us. God bless them for that.
During Leo's funeral, whispers started to flow that
Leo had been playing this game for weeks, but that you are supposed to have a buddy catch you as you pass out. At Leo's grave
as over 300 kids and their families gathered, I begged them to please stop this game.
Over the last 3 years since Rose has lost her son
Leo, she has done 5 TV News interview shows, several newspaper interviews, she goes to schools and gives speeches on this
deadly game and the warning signs that parents should watch for, she has worked to raise money for this cause, and has held
a walk in Leo's memory to make this game more publicly aware.
Rose still feels that Leo's death was partly her
fault, because she didn't pay any attention to the warning signs and she also felt that she should have known that Leo was
trying to tell her something 2 days before he died when he asked her if she knew what Space Monkey was.
My heart breaks for her, because I would probably
have been the same way that she is. I would have just thought the mood swings, headaches, and bloodshot eyes were just part
of being a teenager. That is a rough age and a lot of teenagers have troubles, but it doesn't mean anything like this and
I have never heard of this game either and I'm sure there are a lot more parents out there that haven't either.
Since Rose shared Leo's story with me, I did some
research on the net about this dangerous and deadly game and couldn't believe how many of our young adults have lost their
lives to this or about how few parents know anything about it. Sometimes this game is referred to as The Choking Game, The
Passing Out Game, The Fainting Game, or Space Monkey, but no matter what it's called, it is still very deadly and has taken
so many unnecessary lives.
Below you will find a link to a show that aired on
CBS News on July 28, 2005, telling of another family that lost a child due to this game. Please click on the link and read
the full story where you will know what you are dealing with and know what to watch for in your own children or grandchildren.
News Story On This Deadly Game:
Also I beg of you to please visit my dear friend
Rose's Angel Son Leo's web site at the link below and sign his guest book and let Rose know that her angel hasn't been forgotten
and is cared about. Thank you all and God bless you.
Leo's Web Site:
Theresa Yeary-Dontrich(Aunt of Emily & Emilio
Garcia)
Find sex offenders
near me