Keith was labeled NI, ADS, Dyslexia. From the time Keith was three years old, because of his disabilities Keith attended school full time since he was three - two years of preschool and on and on till his freshman year at high school.

Keith was a very kind and loving boy. Keith respected everyone, no matter what their faults were. When you grow up being label disabled you develop a sense about other people who were different, and Keith always showed kindness.

Keith was 145 lbs, six ft, dark brown hair, (sometimes cut in a mohaw) brown eyes, and a smile that lit every room he entered. I am a native New Yorker from the Bronx and have a mouth like one….that kid of min used to love to bust my chops until I would have to be screaming at him. I'd even had begun to call it his wise-ass smile - so many times I'd say to him if it weren't for that smile of yours, you'd be dead meat and he would laugh and run away from my anger. His smile was so infectious that I had to warn his teachers about it - for them not to let his smile get him out of trouble. Anyone that knew him understands this.

The summer before he died, Keith had a full time job at 15 working for a landscaper. He earned over $1,000 for one month. I even had to declare taxes for my dead son.

Keith was on the lacrosse team where he was nicknamed Wheels because of his ability to run, and made freshman varsity wrestling where he was known as IronMan or Superman.

Keith was not a Pulitzer prize winner, nor did he discover the cure for cancer. He didn't invent some miraculous gadget, write a best seller or star in movie. What this young man did, something I consider far more important in the grand scheme of things, was to be born my son and to bring me joy in the 15 short years that he shared my life. You see, Keith was killed by a driver who was huffing at the wheel in the prime of his life. I write the following account of the accident that changed my life in the hopes that people will learn from this. That all who read my words will "THINK."

So one Friday Night - 8/7/98, after a movie, the crowd had moved to someone's house to hangout. There comes news of a fight - being boys they all scrambled to see the fight.

The scenario or time line that the Police have been able to piece together was that the driver decided he wanted to buy cigarettes so they stopped at the local store. The driver buys cigarettes and shoplifts three cans of Glade aerosol and a bunch of plastic bags - all the necessary ingredients for Huffing.

Keith and his friend were still in the car at this time. The driver starts speeding towards where the fight was going on, without listening to the pleas to slow down, the driver instead chooses to start huffing at the wheel - he passes out - Keith and his friend in the rear seat tries to steer the car. Of course they fail. The car went sideways, hits a stone wall, across a driveway, and impacts a tree about 20 feet from the road. The police found pieces of the car over 40 feet away. Keith died on impact. -- So after three days of fighting to get my son's body released - we have a funeral - We had over 400 attendees at the wake and a 50 car procession for his funeral.

I am here to warn you about the very real, and increasingly popular dangers of inhalant abuse. As a parent, please take a few minutes to investigate whether your children may be experimenting with these dangerous (though perfectly legal) chemicals. If you are someone with siblings or other young people that you care about, please talk to them. All young people experiment, but inhalant abuse can cause serious injury or death with EVEN ONE USE. Most parents are in the dark regarding the popularity and dangers of inhalant use. Even fewer know the deadly effects the poisons in these products have on the brain and body when they are inhaled or "huffed."

It's like playing Russian Roulette. The user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time a product is misused as an inhalant. The wrong choice of aerosol can starve the body of oxygen, which can lead to unconsciousness and death, commonly referred to as SUDDEN SNIFFING DEATH (SSD).

Children (ages 9 to 17) already have the knowledge that common household products are inexpensive to obtain, easy to hide and the easiest way to get high. According to national surveys, inhaling dangerous products is becoming one of the most widespread "drug" problems in the country. Examples of products kids abuse to get high include model airplane glue, nail polish remover, cleaning fluids, hair spray, gasoline, (from your own garage - the cap is removed from the gas tank, and inhaled) the propellant in aerosol whipped cream, spray paint, fabric protector, air conditioner fluid (freon), cooking spray and correction fluid. A search of your own home will produce at least one product thatcan be used as an inhalant.

These products are sniffed; snorted; bagged fumes inhaled from a plastic bag; or "huffed" (inhalant soaked rag, sock, or roll of toilet paper in the mouth) to achieve a high. Inhalants are also sniffed directly from the container. It is more popular than marijuana with young people. As little as $1.50 (lunch money) will pay for a can of air freshener. More than a million young people used inhalants to get high just last year. By the time a student reaches the 8th grade, one in five will have used inhalants.

My dreams have turned into nightmares filled with images of Keith's final, dying moments. I'm told as time goes on and I begin to heal, the nightmares will be replaced with precious dreams of happier times. Then too will come warm, loving memories of my darling son; the beauty of his wide, magnificient smile the feel of his warm hand in mine, and a kalidescope of images of the times we spent together. But I'm not there yet.

My pain and grief, and the anger I carry inside, motivate me to continue my fight to prevent another mother or father from every having to live in the hell I now dwell in. It motivates me to do everything in my power to see that no other child is lost due to stupidity, selfishness and ignorance.

And you can help - in fact, you must help!

When I learned about the one use can kill statistic I as a mom could not let that go -- it's just too scary. To imagine that a kid would take one chance probably on a dare and then die from that chance made it my goal to change the odds. It began a mission.

If you are a parent--take a few minutes to investigate whether your children may be experimenting with these dangerous (though perfectly legal) chemicals. If you are someone with siblings or other young people that you care about, please talk to them. All young people experiment, but inhalant abuse can cause serious injury or death with EVEN ONE USAGE. Most parents are in the dark regarding the popularity and dangers of inhalant use. Even fewer know the deadly effects the poisons in these products have on the brain and body when they are inhaled or "huffed."

It's like playing Russian Roulette. The user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time a product is misused as an inhalant. The wrong choice of aerosol can starve the body of oxygen, which can lead to unconsciousness and death, commonly referred to as SUDDEN SNIFFING DEATH (SSD).

Children (ages 9 to 17) already have the knowledge that common household products are inexpensive to obtain, easy to hide and the easiest way to get high. According to national surveys, inhaling dangerous products is becoming one of the most widespread "drug" problems in the country. Examples of products kids abuse to get high include model airplane glue, nail polish remover, cleaning fluids, hair spray, gasoline, ( from your own garage - the cap is removed from the gas tank, and inhaled) the propellant in aerosol whipped cream, spray paint, fabric protector, air conditioner fluid (freon), cooking spray and correction fluid.

A search of your own home will produce at least one product that can be used as an inhalant. These products are sniffed, snorted, bagged fumes inhaled from a plastic bag or "huffed" (inhalant-soaked rag, sock, or roll of toilet paper in the mouth) to achieve a high. Inhalants are also sniffed directly from the container. It is more popular than marijuana with young people. As little as $1.50 (lunch money) will pay for a can of air freshener. More than a million young people used inhalants to get high just last year. By the time a student reaches the 8th grade, one in five will have used inhalants.

So many things have happened since Keith died. The boy that killed Keith was not convicted by the grand jury. They ruled with their hearts instead of their heads. The driver suffered extensive injuries - lost the full left side of his face including the loss of an eye -- his voice box (he now speaks through a traech) and one lung. Yet despite these injuries he has recovered and is now hold down a job. He and the rear seat passenger both claim no memory of the accident.

The rear seat passenger had multiple leg injuries from the waist down and he has also healed. The accident for this boy had not made a difference as he is still one that goes about doing as he pleases.

The driver now only faces municipal traffic offenses which have yet to be decided on. The most we can hope for is a five year suspension of his driver's license and some community service. Odds are he will not spend one day in jail. We have yet to have any sign of apology or remorse on the part of the driver or his family.

We are pursuing a civil wrongful death case but with the non grand jury verdict our chances of success in this venue are slim to none.

There are additional consequences as a result of Keith's death which the driver has no knowledge of. I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and am now on Social Security Disability. The stress of Keith's death, my medical expenses, the burden of living on one income has affected almost every part of our daily lives.

The public needs to be educated about the dangers of aerosols. Most adults only know the term 'sniffing'. The kids know the term huffing - whipping, etc. I post a flyer in the windows of my car that says Huffing can Kill You. I was recently stopped by a local town police officer who asked what huffing was! That incident made me only too aware once again how much the public needs to be educated about inhalants.

I want the world of parents to be aware of the dangers of aerosols I am but one person screaming in the darkness - Keith did not have to die to become an example - he already was one. Please pass my story on - for every one person a child might be saved.

For more information call the Inhalants Hotline, 1-800-322-5525; National Inhalant Prevention Coalition at 1-800-269-4237 or visit their site at http://www.inhalants.org ; or visit Keith's website at http://www.oocities.org/Wellesley/Atrium/5833

Thank you, Margaret - Keith's Mom

My e-mail