Sassy and savvy chick of the month

Shar Graham is mother to two daughters and two sons, one son sadly passed away at 28years old. Only months after his death Shar had created a label in his honour- Rollforever, I'll leave her to tell the rest. Roll Forever


On 31 May 2009 I was about to get in the shower after cleaning house when my phone rang. I answered to a very distraught voice on the other end (my son Aron) saying between sobs “Mum, I don’t know how to say this .. Davo’s dead!!” My heart hit the floor as I said “What?” He said it again ... and again .. sobbing uncontrollably. Then I hit the floor! I don’t really remember the rest of the conversation, just that I was a sobbing, shaking mess, in total shock and disbelief. I then had to call my girls and tell them the news. Neither answered their phones so I tried to text them but was shaking too much. Finally I got thru to each of them and had to tell them their brother was dead. They both came home and we rushed up to Aron’s whilst trying to contact other family to let them know. We were only there a short time and the police arrived to take us to identify David. Aron & I went with them. It was the worst thing I have ever had to do ... and I have had to go thru some awful stuff. No parent should have to go thru this!

The weeks that followed were a blur of trying to cope and do all the organising of the funeral and things that had to be done, dealing with all the emotions of everybody, being surrounded by people and not having much time to ourselves to deal with our own ‘stuff’. Not much sleep, very little appetite, looking for answers, wondering, searching ...

About a week after the funeral I woke early one morning with ideas bubbling in my head. That grew and grew over the following days and weeks and ‘Roll Forever’ was born. The name came from the tattoo on the back of David’s neck which he was very proud of. We all had it tattooed on different parts the week after his passing. So hence was born a new clothing label for skaters. It is a legacy to him and I know he is proud of it and would have been over the moon to be involved in it.

It took 14 weeks to finally get the autopsy report and learn that he died from a drug overdose. He had a cocktail of drugs in his body but only one was a fatal level. There was also contributing factors of bronchial asthma which he had never been diagnosed with, and hardening of his arteries. He was also born with a hole in his heart which was still evident. He had passed in his sleep and was found by his flatmates late the next morning when they got up and discovered that he ‘didn’t look right’ and was cold. They called the ambulance but he had been gone for 5 – 7 hours.

It was amazing to hear at his funeral the effect he had had on the lives of friends and family and also how little some family members had known about him. It is certainly not an experience I ever wish to go thru again!! It was very scary on 25 September when my youngest daughter was hit by a car while crossing a road and we almost lost her as well. Driving to the hospital and not knowing what to expect, how severe her injuries were, if she would survive .. it sure was the year from hell!!

It has been a welcome distraction and a very healing process working on Roll Forever and I am determined to make something of this legacy to David. My big vision is not only to make Roll Forever a well known global label but to also prevent the widespread hurt and destruction caused by drug use. I hope to be instrumental in creating a program in which young people can experience life without drugs, and involve them in creative pursuits and following their dreams whilst redefining the “rehab” cliché.

You can help Shar achieve her dream by supporting her cause, joining her on facebook will keep you informed daily, she has a cause page- become a fan! You can also see more at http://www.rollforever.com.au/  
By helping Shar you may stop what happened to Davo happening to anothers son or daughter. Shar and her family are courageous- lets help.