Gift of life

By Jade Lawton and Danny Buttler
THE tragic death of Pakenham teen Cameron Lowe has saved the lives of at least five others.
His family confirmed yesterday that his wish of being an organ donor had been carried out, with between five and seven organs being passed on as a gift of life from Cameron. Some organs will be used for diabetes research.
The 17-year-old died at The Alfred hospital on Monday following an assault in Cunningham Crescent in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Cameron, who was punched, fell and hit his head on the road.
He was helped home by family and friends, but went into cardiac arrest some hours later. Paramedics placed Cameron into an induced coma and he was airlifted to hospital.
Yesterday, more than 2700 mourners had joined a facebook tribute group for Cameron, and were leaving heartfelt messages of shock, hurt and disbelief.
“Such a tragedy. Too young and gone too soon. My sincere condolences go out to all of this young man’s family and friends,” wrote one.
Sickeningly, the tribute group has also attracted ‘trolls’ – fake facebook accounts that join RIP groups to post hurtful comments.
At least three trolls had been reported to facebook on Tuesday.
Despite these isolated incidents, overwhelmingly people have remembered Cameron as a sweet young man who had his whole life ahead of him.
Pakenham Hungry Jack’s owner Geoff Manson said Cameron’s death had shocked his co-workers.
“He was such a good kid who will be missed by all of the staff,” Mr Manson said.
“It is a shame that this has happened, but now we need to think about the family and how they are coping with the situation.”
He also wanted to point out that the incident did not happen at Hungry Jack’s. The group had been there earlier in the night visiting friends.
Acting principal of Drouin Secondary College, Anne Wilson, said the school community was devastated to hear of Cameron’s death.
“We are really very sad to hear of Cameron’s death in such a tragic way and we offer our condolences to his family and friends,” she said.
Despite leaving the school at the start of 2009, Cameron still had many friends at the college.
Ms Wilson, who is also the school’s student well-being officer, said the college would offer counselling to anyone who was struggling to deal with the tragedy.
“We would offer any support needed to children who were friends of his, or anyone who is affected by Cameron’s death,” she said.
“The impact of such a loss can even remind some students of previous losses they have suffered in their lives; it can be quite a complicated situation.”
Ms Wilson said the school would contact Cameron’s family before any formal tribute to Cameron would be considered.
A 17-year-old boy who presented himself to police on Monday afternoon in relation to the death has been released pending further inquiries.
No charges have been laid at this stage. Detectives are still appealing for witnesses to the assault. Anyone with information regarding the attack is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au