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Myra Kay Hughey and her son were close.

Kevin, 16, her only child, talked to Hughey about everything — even girls.

But in the summer of 2007, Kevin never said anything that made the McLeansville woman suspect he would commit suicide.

Now Hughey counts her life in months. The months she has managed to survive since Kevin’s death.

In the midst of healing, she has decided to help other families.

“I don’t want any other parent to go through this,” Hughey said, unable to explain how painful the loss is. “I want every parent to have it on their radars.”

Parents try to educate their kids about so many things — safe sex, driving, drugs, gangs — but “you’re not necessarily looking for this,” she said.

In January, Hughey started training on the track at Northeast Park to prepare for the Out of the Darkness Overnight fundraiser. The national event on June 27 and 28 in Chicago will raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“I hate that I have this cause, but I do, and I’m very passionate about it,” Hughey said.

She said she didn’t realize how big a problem suicide is until after Kevin died. It is the third-leading cause of death among teens and young adults, according to the AFSP.

Hughey will walk 18 miles one week after Kevin would have turned 18.

She wants to raise $1,600 — $100 for each year of his life.

“I was blessed to have him for 16 years,” Hughey said. “I learned more from my son than any other human being. I learned … about real love.”

Kevin was smart and mischievous, Hughey said. Bored in school, he’d clown around and not turn in any homework — but he’d ace his tests and drive his teachers crazy.

He was an acolyte at Lee’s Chapel United Methodist Church and a Star Scout in the church’s Boy Scout troop.

Kevin, who lived with his dad in Greensboro, attended Page High School. He had a big heart and always tried to give people a hug or joke around when he sensed they were having a bad day.

“He hated seeing me get down,” Hughey said. “He hated seeing anybody get down.”

He was part of Page’s JROTC and was focused on becoming a Marine.

But near the end of his freshman year he began getting nauseous and short of breath about an hour after doing sprints. Like Hughey, he was born with a deeply indented breast bone and the indentation was getting more severe, she said.

He briefly lost consciousness several times.

He wanted to go through an extended, painful procedure to fix the problem, but the insurance company deemed it cosmetic and wouldn’t pay, Hughey said.

“He saw it as a necessary thing to get into the military,” Hughey said.
The insurance company required more tests, and after a stress test the insurance company said he was asthmatic — a designation that could prevent him from joining the military.

Hughey and Kevin’s father were trying to get the insurance company to change its decision when Kevin committed suicide. His death also came after a disappointing 16th birthday, and Hughey thinks he may have already been depressed when he found out the medical procedure might not happen until the next summer.

She said she’ll never know what he was thinking.
“It really just wasn’t who he was at all,” she said. “I think it was an impulse thing.

“His aunt and I say 'He was 16 years old, and he made a mistake.’ If he could undo it, I’d like to think he would,” Hughey said.

Hughey has used therapy and support groups to get through the loss so far. Supportive family, colleagues and friends have helped immensely. And she talks about her son any chance she gets, smiling and laughing while she tells his stories.

“He’s my favorite subject and will forever be,” she said, although many people are uncomfortable talking about him. “I can’t forget him and don’t want him to be forgotten.”

On the night of June 27 she’ll wear a shirt with his photo on the back. She hopes to get supporters and donors to sign the shirt, too.
“I’ll take them to Chicago with me,” she said.

And she’ll wear a piece of Kevin’s camping gear — a backpack that holds water and has a drinking tube.

“Kevin thought it was the coolest thing,” she said. “He had to have it.”

Contact Jamie Kennedy Jones at 449-4610 or jamie.kennedy@news-record.com