Heartbroken mum reveals son's last words before caffeine overdose
A family struggling to come to terms with their son’s accidental death a day before his 22nd birthday have laid bare the heartbreaking details of his final hours in the hope it saves another family from going through similar grief.
In the early hours of New Year’s Day 2018, 21-year-old Lachlan Foote had come home late but before he went to bed he had hugged his mum and told her how much he loved her.
“He came in.. I unlocked the [front door for him], we said ‘hi, Happy New Year’, and... he paused and he said, ‘Can I give you a hug, Mum? I love you so much,” Dawn Foote told A Current Affair.
“And that was the last thing he said.”
The next morning at around 10am when Lachlan still hadn’t emerged from his bedroom, his mother had gone to investigate and found him unconscious on the bathroom floor.
Son unknowingly added lethal ingredient to shake
A toxicology report would later reveal Lachlan had died of a lethal dosage of caffeine.
The young man’s grieving parents have gone public with their story in order to dispel rumours that the aspiring musician had died of a drug overdose and also to warn others of the dangers of pure caffeine powder.
“The pathologist has officially confirmed that ‘Lachlan did not die of an illicit drug overdose’. Lachlan wasn't drunk either – his blood/alcohol level was below .05,” the heartbroken father posted on Facebook earlier this month.
On Sunday, Mr Foote announced on Facebook the family had finally received the corner’s report confirming the cause of death and hoped that it would serve as an end to the rumours.
“He died of ‘caffeine toxicity’,” Mr Foote wrote.
“Lachlan came home after celebrating New Year’s Eve with his friends and made a protein shake, innocently adding too much Pure Caffeine Powder – a teaspoon is lethal,” he said.
Pure caffeine powder is widely available and sold as a dietary supplement, with one teaspoon equivalent to up to 50 cups of coffee.
Mr Foote believes that Lachlan may have received the caffeine powder from a friend and was “unaware of its potency”, stating on Facebook that he wanted to warn others who may also be unaware.
“We’re concerned that there might be other young people in his circle who bought or shared in this batch of pure caffeine powder,” he said.
Mr Foote described the death as “a tragic, innocent mistake” but said it was “scandalous” that the product was available in Australia.
“Please warn your friends, talk to your children and perhaps check your kitchen cupboards.
“Pure caffeine powder looks just like any other white powder but a heaped teaspoon of it will kill you,” he said, ending the post with a tribute to his late son.
“He lives on in our hearts, our photos and in the stars”.
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