Rhiannon Ingle
The heartbroken Australian actress who lost her 13-year-old son to suicide has revealed the reason why she wants to 'preserve' his body.
Clare McCann, best known for her breakout role as 'Cherry' on the popular TV series Blog Party, announced last week (23 May) the heartbreaking news that her 13-year-old son, Atreyu, had died after being the victim of 'months of horrific bullying'.
She announced her desperate plea to raise a six-figure sum of $300,000 (AUD) in a bid to have her son's body cryogenically frozen on an online fundraiser and has opened up about the heartbreaking reasoning behind such a decision.
The grieving mother pleaded with supporters that she only has 'one chance left to cryogenically preserve his body within the next 7 days'.
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"If we miss this window, we lose the chance for any future revival that science may offer," McCann continued, adding that such a decision is 'about hope and justice' and refusing to let her son’s story 'end in silence'.
Outlining where 'every dollar' of the six-figure sum goal will go, McCann explained: "I am asking for $300,000 AUD urgently. Every dollar will go toward: immediate cryopreservation and legal transportation, required medical and legal services for the procedure and a trust in his [Atreyu] name to protect his legacy."
"I am a public figure with a national platform," she added, "and I will use every resource I have to make sure this never happens again, not just to my son, but to any other child failed by this system."
"I’ve been sitting there with him in the morgue just kissing him, realistically from Thursday I know I should be putting him in a fully synthetic sleeping bad and putting ice packs surrounding him at the minimum to have any kind of chance but I just don’t want to disturb him if this is all for nothing," McCann later told news.com.au in an article published Thursday (29 May).
She continued: "I mean, I want him back, but at the same time, the ice will disfigure him so if I can’t use the cryopreservation technology how do I do that to my baby? I can’t do that to my beautiful baby.
"If this doesn’t work, if I can’t raise the money to do this then I can’t even think about what’s next, a cemetery… I can’t even."
McCann later added: "The thought of being able to bring him back gives me something to hang on to. Without that I literally have nothing."
In the GoFundMe, which was created four days ago, McCann signed off: "We only have 7 days. Please act now."
At the time of writing, $13,835 AUD has been raised - which is just five percent of the total $300,000 AUD goal.
You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.