Parents find teenage son dead on bedroom floor

THE heartbroken parents of a sports-mad teenager have spoken about the devastating moment when they found him dead on his bedroom floor.
Jamie Drysdale with dad KennyJamie Drysdale with dad Kenny
Jamie Drysdale with dad Kenny

Hearts fan Jamie Drysdale, 18, had told his mum just ten minutes earlier that he was getting up to walk the dog.

Despite frantic attempts to revive Jamie – who had epilepsy – he had passed away by the time paramedics arrived at the family home in Kirkliston.

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It was a morning like any other in the Drysdale family home when mum Kathryn went upstairs to wake her son.

She Jamie it was time to get up to walk the dog and left his room when he stirred and muttered “okay, mum”.

But when she returned ten minutes later to give him a nudge, Kathryn found her eldest boy lying unconscious on the floor.

Frantic attempts were made to revive Jamie, but by the time paramedics arrived at the house in Kirkliston, he had passed away.

Three months on from the fateful morning of February 1, his parents have for the first time told of their devastation ahead of a football match being held in the sports-mad Hearts fan’s memory.

Kathryn said there had been no reason to suspect anything might be wrong when she went upstairs at around 10am that Sunday.

The 50-year-old said: “I went to wake him up and said ‘Come on, the dog needs taking out’.

“He said ‘okay, mum’ and I left for about ten minutes. When I came back he was lying on the floor.”

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Jamie had been diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 13, but medication had helped to control his condition and he had not suffered a seizure in the 18 months leading up to his death.

And in 2013, he was back competing in a bowling competition in Livingston just two days after a major seizure.

Kathryn said: “He never made a fuss. He just got on with it.”

His parents believe he may have suffered from a rare condition known as Sudden Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), which affects just one in 1000 people with the condition.

Their pain has been compounded by the mystery surrounding his death, as they are still waiting for a report from the Procurator Fiscal which they hope will provide them with answers.

His dad Kenny Drysdale, a self-employed electrician, said: “We did everything, called 999, did CPR, but by the time the paramedics came there was nothing they could do.

“It was totally out of the blue. There was nothing to prepare us for something like this happening.”

Jamie’s death has been very hard on his younger siblings Katie, 11, and Callum, 17, who is autistic and also has learning difficulties.

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Kenny, 54, said: “It’s been very hard. But we have to try to carry on for the other two.

“I’ve tried to throw myself into work but there are posters in the village of the football match and it all reminds me of Jamie.”

Hearts-daft Jamie had been to watch his team beat Alloa Athletic the night before his death.

Kenny said: “He was 100 per cent a Hearts fan. I think he only missed ten games home and away since he started supporting them when he was six.”

The family were moved by the club’s generosity, who sent a letter of condolence to the family and a wreath for Jamie’s funeral.

Hearts lifting the Championship trophy on Sunday will bring mixed emotions, said Kenny, who will watch from the Wheatfield Stand, where Jamie’s name is proudly emblazoned on his old seat.

As well as football, former Queensferry High School pupil Jamie loved playing bowls and golf in between his studies at West Lothian College, where he was studying computing.

Kenny said: “He was very kind, he would do anything for anybody. He was a happy-go-lucky lad.”

Memorial match for teenager

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HUNDREDS are expected to attend the Jamie Drysdale Memorial Football Match next Saturday.

Jamie’s friend Daniel Hunter, one of the organisers, said: “Football was such a big thing for Jamie that it seemed appropriate when we wanted to do something in memory.

“It is a terrible shame what happened. We just wanted to do something to celebrate his life.”

The match will kick off at 11am at Kirkliston Leisure Centre, in aid of Epilepsy Scotland.

There will also be a tombola, a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses, a tea tent and facepainting.

A fundraising page set up in his memory has raised more than £3000 for Epilepsy Scotland.

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