Hayden's dad is devastated by his loss
Hayden's dad is devastated by his loss and spoke out in an 11-minute video
A GRIEVING dad revealed his son took his own life after struggling with the coronavirus lockdown - just days before his 13th birthday.

Brad Hunstable from from Aledo, Texas, said Hayden, 12 "wasn't depressed" or "someone who moped around" before the COVID-19 pandemic.

But his young son suffered during as a result of the emergency stay home orders and school closures.

Reflecting on his loss, Hunstable refuted people's claims that the lockdown was "just like summer" for kids like Hayden, who were stuck at home and isolated from their peers.

"It's not like summer," an Hunstable said in an emotional YouTube video, where he describes how coronavirus killed his son "but not in the way you think."

"We have a social and emotional bubble that's about to burst," he said "I hope nobody ever feels this way, to see what I saw, and to feel this pain."

Hayden
© FacebookHe described his son as an 'incredible' kid
On April 17, three days before his 13th birthday, Hunstable's eight-year-old daughter told him Hayden hanged himself in his bedroom.

Hayden's dad believes this tragedy would not have befallen their family if it wasn't for the virus and its consequences.

He recalled how Hayden struggled without the routine of school and seeing his friends.

An avid gamer, he was devastated when he accidentally broke his monitor - not to mention the fact that coronavirus had scuppered his birthday celebrations.

"I believe my son would be alive today if he had been at school," Hunstable said. "And that's not to discount massive suffering around the world because of this virus.

"I don't want my son and his memory to be the last mistake he ever made. Nobody wants that."

Instead, Hunstable said, he wants Hayden to be remembered for his "smile, heart, dedication, and tenacity."

The distraught dad started a new Facebook page and set up a website called "Hayden's Corner" to raise money for a mental health campaign.

It aims to help schools provide learning content focused on the social and emotional development of our youth and Create a Public Service Announcement campaign, educating kids and parents on responsible gaming and oversight from the parents and the gaming corporations.