This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Michael James Charles Beetham who was born in Australia on April 26, 1989 and passed away on February 04, 2008 at the age of 18. We will remember him forever. It is still a work in progress, come again soon. Updating continually.

Our darling son, you left us far too soon!

18 years 10months and now our hearts are broken

Tomorrow: Sunday 26th April 2009 would have been Michael's 20th Birthday!

It's still so very hard to be here without him, knowing I cannot hug him or have him give me a hug or say the words I long to hear "I Love You Mum!" 

I know Mike will be celebrating his special day in Heaven, but as all parents who've lost a child will know, IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME!!!! Most of us know they are okay and happy and safe, however it's not the same as having them here with us and our Families!!

Below is the last Birthday we ever celebrated for Michael: His 18th Birthday.

Happy Birthday my very special son, you were and still are unconditionally loved, sadly missed and forever remembered!

Love you Forever My Main Man!

Some very sad, shocking news! We found out last week that some absolute scums of the earth Vandalised our precious son's cross (which is at the accident scene). I know many people disagree with crosses on the side of roads, but Mike's is far back from the M1. We needed to put up a cross to honour our son and to remember that not only did he die there, it was where he was last alive on earth also. I personally don't mind crosses on the roads, it may just be enough to remind even one driver to "SLOW DOWN"  I've heard about some shocking accidents this year alone and many of them were the direct result of speed!!

Back to the Vandals: I know that these people must have stopped on purpose at night to try and absolutely demolish the memorial cross & photos etc we have placed there. I know it was done with intent to hurt us in the most heartbreaking way. Well: they achieved this. However we will NEVER GIVE UP! 

We will always have a cross & photos there to honour our son. These Vandals have NO RESPECT!!

As mentioned earlier, we believe it was done at night and probably over the course of 2 nights as we have people drive past the accident site almost daily. One day we were told it was bent over and the next it was gone. The cross was attached to a star picket that was hammered into the ground and we've realised as the ground was very, very hard: These vandals must've had to pull the cross back & forward many times to break the metal. Luckily for us, these vandals only threw everything further into the bush and we were able to retrieve everything, except for a few pictures they ripped up!

I will never be able to understand anybody who would callously do this to a site they would know was very important to someone! However, all is well now as we have the new cross in place and all the photos put back in place.

We want to thank the MANY people who called to tell us the cross was gone. As the accident site is quite far from where we live, we would not have known until we went down yesterday if it wasn't for these kind-hearted souls. THANK YOU ALL !!

Tomorrow: 4th February 2009 is the first anniversary of Mike's passing!!

We will be putting up a new, more permanent cross for Mike. It will have a beautiful plaque pictured here added and Aunty Bev has added her own personal touch by writing Mike's name in a lovely calligraphy type script. Mike would be very proud of all his family and friends who are coming over to be with us on this very sad, tragic day. However, we will also be sharing stories about our little rascal Mike

Michael MEMORIAL TATTOO'S: Thank You to the following friends and family who went through the pain, financially & physically to honour our son with Memorial Tattoo's

James (Cousin) Michael's Nickname: Beetle

Jessica (Cousin) Chinese writing says "Michael"

 Friend: Scott Norris with another friends Memorial Tattoo

Danni: Very Special Friend

Sara: Mike's Ex-Girlfriend Forever Loved!

MIKE'S OLD CROSS                MIKE'S NEW CROSS

                                               NEW CROSS PUT UP

                                              1ST ANNIVERSARY

                                              4TH FEBRUARY 2009!

Good Friend Danni: Tattoo Tribute to Beetle/Michael & another friend who also passed away too soon (Brendan) Mike's tattoo is the top one with the Beetle on it.

Newly added writing by Mum in Tributes in condolences, please feel free to have a look.

Our Dearly Loved Son: You are the Sunshine in our Lives.
 
Kind Thank You from the bottom of our hearts to Julie & Roy McGregor for this lovely picture.



Thank You to the Family of Brent Bowden for making us this beautiful photo of our son Michael. I am very grateful you know how to touch my heart, even when your's has been broken also.

I've updated some things about drug addiction in the legacy part of this site. Michael was our son, he may not have been perfect, but he was perfect for us!

We believe the measure of one's life is more than the way in which they died.

 


We laid our Dearly loved son's ashes to rest at the Chinese Buddhist Temple on Sunday 31st August. Even though we are not Buddhist and neither was Michael, he found the Temple gave him peace and tranquility. He really liked the fact that the Buddhist's do no JUDGE anyone. He was very much like that himself!

  Inside Temple



Michael's Dad, Trevor takes time to reflect on our beautiful son's life

Michael, or Beetle to his many friends passed away in an horrific car accident on Monday 4th February 2008 at 7.10pm.  This is a date and time that will be forever etched into our memory. I don't know how we've managed to continue living without Michael in our lives, he left us much richer for having known his kind, happy, carefree soul. We will never know why he had to leave us so soon, not until the day we are reunited one day in Heaven.

Sadly Michael was struggling with a drug addiction which found him staying at Mirikai a rehabilitation centre at Burleigh as a live in voluntary resident. Mostly Mike was honest about what he was up to in his life, however his last 6 months or so were difficult for him as he was finding it very hard to live without drugs. Eventually he asked for our help and as his parents we would do anything for our son.  We loved him unconditionally!
It all started with Schoolies week 2006. I don't blame schoolies, we believe if Mike wanted drugs he would have found them somewhere else.
Late in 2007 Michael came home from a night out & I found him early the next morning unconscious! Nothing I tried would wake him so after a phone call I realised he'd overdosed on quite a few illicit drugs and promptly rang 000. The Ambulance came very quickly and for that I thank them. Michael was still non-responsive when he arrived at Hospital however after a few hours he came to and thought it was all a joke even going so far as to tell me I'd overreacted! The Doctor's and Nurses let fly and told him if it wasn't for me he would have died then. This was a wake-up call for Mike as the only thing he remembered was having a great time, then being woken up with bright lights shining in his eyes.
At home that night we had a family discussion & after talking for awhile Michael finally realised how bad his drug problem was and said he wanted help to fight this insidious addiction.
It took a few months and many, many phone calls for Michael to be finally accepted as a voluntary resident into a residential treatment facility at Burleigh by the name of Mirikai Therapeutic Centre. Michael went into treatment late November 2007. He found life at the centre extremely difficult and although we went to see him every time we were allowed, it wasn't the same as having him home with us again. We spent a day down there 3 weeks after he arrived (the rules state that residents aren't allowed visitors for the first 3wks) and watched a play Michael was a part of.  It was a wonderful day and Michael looked so happy and content, we had no idea he was so unhappy. 

Michael came home to spend Christmas day with us. Sadly we had to have him back at rehab before 3.30pm.

In early January I received a phone call from Mike and his counsellor asking for him to come home for two weeks as he wasn't coping so well with the program. I agreed and picked him up. But the time did not go as smoothly as it should have. Michael was struggling with his addiction and stole some of my medication for my back problem. I eventually had to lock all medications his and mine into the shed and go there 4 times a day to get out what he needed. It was a constant struggle.
I broke down after I found he'd taken my medication as I thought if he continued with this behaviour he would never be able to become free of drugs. How was I to know my words to Mirikai would prove true. I rang them and begged them to take Mike back sooner than arranged and told them if they didn't Michael wouldn't live till his 19th Birthday. I would give anything to take back those words! Tragically even though they did take him back, he did die before his 19th Birthday!

On the day before the accident Michael's Dad (Trevor) took his friends Matt (cousin), Candi & Mark down to see him. Mike was allowed to be taken out for the day, so they went to Cavill ave at Surfers Paradise and played in Time Zone. I couldn't go as I'd only had back fusion surgery on the 22nd January and couldn't walk properly. I so wished I could've gone.

When he returned home Trevor was so happy for Mike and said he looked and sounded better than he'd ever been.  How wrong he was! 

Michael called us around 4.30pm on the 4th February wanting to come home again. I spoke to him briefly and told him he couldn't come home yet as I was not up to looking after him. His Dad spoke to Mike & his counsellor for a good 45minutes and when he ended the conversation it was agreed Michael was going to stay put at Mirikai until the following Tuesday, then if he still wanted to come home Trevor would go down, pick him up and we would work out from there the best thing to do for Mike.

Sadly Michael could not wait - The rest of this story is pieced together from witness accounts and information from other sources: As far as we know this is what we believed may have happened - A "Court Ordered Resident" by the name of Luke Riley spoke to Mike at length. Luke had only been in the facility for 2 days & we believe he had no intention of staying. Michael was pining for his family and friends. For whatever reason Mike went with Luke to the local Stocklands Shopping Centre.  I believe they were gone for a short while. When they returned to Mirikai both boys were told they were NOT to go anywhere as the counsellors wanted to speak to them. Before they knew it Mike & Luke had walked out again, for the final time! Luke & Mike walked up to a man who was about to leave and Luke punched this person in the face. I'm not sure exactly what was said to him at this time. It has been reported in the press that the boys were armed with a knife, this is not true! We've been told by the owner of the stolen car that Mike had something up his sleeve, he didn't know what it was, however after speaking with Mirikai we believe it was Michael's room key. Luke then jumped into the driver's seat and screamed out to Mike, "Stab him! Stab him! Get in the F***ing car now!" We've been told Michael was standing next to the back door behind the driver's side and hesitated. I believe it was because he knew he was involved in a serious crime and I think he was scared. He'd NEVER participated in ANYTHING like this before in his LIFE! We all have what's called a "fight or flight" response in highly charged situations and sadly Michael chose to flee.  He jumped into the backseat and the car charged away.  I do not know exactly what time this was and only know it was between 5pm - 7.10pm. From eyewitness reports the stolen car was speeding excessively and weaving in and out of traffic. They were headed northbound on the M1.

As the owner of the car was reporting it stolen the Police informed him it was involved in a major accident. It seems Luke lost control of the car went into the median ditch where the car hit a drain (ripping much of the underbody of the car).  After hitting the drain the car launched into the air narrowly missing a ute and another car and the passenger side hit the front right hand side of a very large truck. Michael's poor body suffered more damage than anyone could imagine. If eyewitness reports are true he may not have been alive when the car impacted the truck. One person who saw the accident believes Michael suffered a broken neck when the car hit the concrete drain in the median strip. Of Mike's many, many injuries one of them was indeed a broken neck. After speaking with our family Doctor (who has read the Autopsy Report) I believe Michael did NOT SUFFER. I've been told if his neck was broken from the drain, he would never have felt the impact on the truck. I pray everyday this is the case as I do not want to believe my son suffered for one minute. The coroner could not identify which of the many injuries Michael died from and it states on his Death Certificate - (a) Multiple Injuries Car Accident (b) passenger in a car accident. Michael was pronounced dead at the scene and like Luke had to be cut out of the wreckage. The driver Luke survived the accident however he died either on the way to Hospital or soon after arrival. I pray for both our boy Michael and Luke and his family.

We believe Michael did not know Luke before this tragic event however we have heard they may have had some friends in common. I do feel Mike was just trying to get home and the toxicology tests show he had no illegal drugs in his body at the time of his death.

May you now rest in peace my son, we will love you forever more.