Memory: Kayleigh Bartlett

This post was written by Kayleigh Bartlett, Kayleigh's older namesake who was friends with her at Calwell high. Kayleigh spoke often of 'the other Kayleigh' and was so happy that they were friends.

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When I was in year 9 I still thought I was the only Kayleigh in the school until someone told me a girl named Kayleigh Stamp is now at our school I was so excited to meet this new Kayleigh I've been hearing about. After a week or so I was still hoping to see her until one of my friends introduced me to her. Me and Kayleigh would talk for ages I gave her the nickname of Mini Me as she was exactly like me in many ways:

• south east Londoner
• Interested in Sport
• Blonde Hair
• Same Interests
• ETC (There's too many to explain) 

We talked for ages and we got to know each other so much, we past each other in hall ways and we talked occasionally I was late to class but it was worth every minute spending with her. When I was down she looked after me and told me everything will be okay and I said the same thing to her when she was down.

When I heard she past away I couldn't get my head around things for weeks because it was a shock, when they talked about it on the Monday at school I was away I had an x-ray and so many people called me asking me if I was alive I turned up to school and so many people were relieved, they knew my last name was Bartlett but somewhere like thinking of me as  I've been there longer, when I heard I cried for hours and I couldn't believe it Mini Me has past away and my mummy hugged me and said everything will be okay, I'm sad I never came to the funeral but I was at work and I was at a funeral a week before hand and I didn't think I could handle going. 

I miss mini me each and every day and I have her bracelet (which I received for my birthday) which reminds me of her and how she was full of energy. I Love you Mini Me forever and always I will miss you 

When I have no one to turn to

And I am feeling kind of low,

When there is no one to talk to

And no where I want to go,

I search deep within myself

It is the love inside my heart

That lets me know my Angel Kayleigh is there

Even though we are miles apart, You help me through whatever.

Care Bears

I grew up with a Care Bear - which I still have today, so when Care Bears made a re-appearance again, I bought both Kayleigh and Natassja one for their birthdays. Natassja got a purple Share Bear, and Kayleigh got the green Good Luck Bear (green was her favourite colour back then). I think it was Kayleigh's 8th birthday.

Kayleigh and Natassja played Care Bears games with their care bears and my Secret Bear, until poor good luck bear ran into some bad luck by a dog named Jade. Jade was Nanny's dog that we were looking after. Kayleigh had been playing outside with her care bear when we had to go out. We told Kayleigh and her siblings to go to the car through the back gate as we had already locked the house up. Kayleigh still had her Good Luck Bear with her and she asked her older half-brother what to do. He told her to leave it in the backyard and just go. BIG mistake.

We got home 2 hours later and Kayleigh went straight to the backyard to get her Care Bear. All I heard was the scream. The poor Good Luck Bear had been beheaded, de-legged and only had one arm left. The stuffing was strewn from one corner of the backyard to another. Jade still had a piece in her mouth. Kayleigh picked up all the bits and put them in the bin while crying. She was so upset for weeks after. I promised her that I would get her a new Care Bear, which I did, but I could never find another Good Luck Bear - only Cheer Bear or Friend Bear or one of the others.


Good Luck Bear



Spaghetti Girl

This post was written by Jess Chapman, A friend of Kayleighs from Calwell High.
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Kayleigh was always bringing little cans of spaghetti to school. almost every single day she would have spaghetti. One day she came to school with a tin and she had forgotten her little fork. She was so hungry that she ate it with her fingers! we all laughed with her about it :)

She was hence forth called spaghetti girl. She never heard of this nickname as this only happened a couple of days before she went to hospital. I will always love you, Spaghetti Girl  :)

Memory: Jess Chapman

This post was written by Jess Chapman, a friend of Kayleighs at Calwell High
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It was one of the last days I had with Kayleigh. It was a school day, and we were heading out to lunch like usual. One of my friends started randomly spinning around in circles and doing cartwheels. We all just sort of copied her and all started doing our own little tricks. Kayleigh of course was running around, doing flips and cartwheels and handstands that beat all of ours and being the sporty girl that she was :)

It was one of the best days of my life, luckily my friend Y, had caught some of it on video. Kayleigh looked very pretty, the sun in her blonde hair. I'll never forget this memory. I Love you Kayleigh.

Last Conversation

Warning: Some people may find this post upsetting.

I have been asked many times what happened the morning Kayleigh collapsed. I have gone through this time over and over in my mind to try and see what went wrong, why we didn't see what was happening and the truth is that given the time over again we probably wouldn't have done much different as there was no warning that Kayleigh was about to go into cardiac arrest.

Kayleighs last conversation was with Natassja. It's about 4:15 to 4:30 in the morning and Kayleigh has just thrown up which has woken up Natassja.

Natassja: Kayleigh, you just threw up on my bag - what am I supposed to do to go to school
Kayleigh: empty out your bag and use mine - I won't be going to school tomorrow cause I'm sick

Natassja empties out her bag and puts it in the washing machine, and turns it on. She returns to the room where Kayleigh is sitting on the end of the bed. Kayleigh is wheezing but not struggling. Terence tells Kayleigh to get a paper bag to use with her Ventolin (as a spacer) and lie down and take it easy (he is partially asleep when he says this).

Kayleigh: Get me my Ventolin and a plastic bag
Natassja goes gets what Kayleigh asks for
Kayleigh: No a paper bag . . . . .
Natassja gets a paper bag and gives it to Kayleigh

Natassja: Can you help me clean up.
Kayleigh: No, Daddy told me to take it easy
Natassja: But I don't know how to use it (The carpet cleaning machine we have)
Kayleigh: I'm finding it hard to breathe and I'm too tired. Daddy told me to lie down.
Natassja: But I can't take this end off - I don't know how (The end of the carpet cleaner had removable heads for different purposes. The wrong head for carpet cleaning was on it)
Kayleigh: Go get a fork, that's how I do it

Kayleigh lies down on the bed. Uses Ventolin, wheezing seems to get better.

Natassja gets fork and fiddles with the carpet cleaner for a minute.
Natassja: I don't know how to do it. You have to help me Kayleigh
Kayleigh: (gives Natassja the 'you're so useless' stare) - No

Natassja fiddles with the carpet cleaning for another 30 seconds
Natassja: Come on Kayleigh, help me
Kayleigh gives Natassja another look.

Natassja fiddles again for another minute, asks Kayleigh for help again. Kayleigh does not respond. Natassja looks over at Kayleigh and notices she isn't moving. Natassja gets up, walks over to the bed - Kayleigh is staring - her eyes are open. Natassja puts her head against her chest and hears nothing. Natassja then pushes on Kayleigh's chest, Kayleigh takes a breathe and closes her eyes but does not exhale.

Natassja calls out for me. I jump out of bed, take one look at Kayleigh, scream for Terence and run for the phone. Terence checks for pulse and breathing, pulls Kayleigh off the bed and commences CPR while I call the ambulance.

Helping someone with bullying

This entry was from an email we received from one of Kayleigh's friends just after she passed away. If this friend is reading this, she will know it is her and I thank her for sharing this with us. I feel this email reflects the way Kayleigh was towards people and how she helped people that she didn't even know.
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I remember coming in from lunch one day after I had been bullied by two girls. I sat in the library and started crying. Kayleigh walked up to me and asked me what was wrong, I explained what had happened so she sat down and told me not to worry about it, and to just ignore the girls because I was bigger than that. Then I stopped crying and just talked to Kayleigh for the rest of the day, Kayleigh was the one person that was truly there for me that day. From then on we were friends.

Memory: Alissa

This post was written by Alissa - Kayleigh's cousin.

When Kayleigh and I were little I remember she use to follow me around and we would eat ice creams from nans freezer and play on the bikes. I remember that day like it was yesterday.


We were at my house, and we were on the swings seeing who could get the closest to the sky, and you won. 

I loved Kayleigh so much, I always thought she was so pretty! She always glowed and had the best smile!

When I moved to Queensland with my family I missed playing with my cousins.When I moved back to Canberra a lot was going on in my family so we didn't get to see each other much, but when I saw her I made sure we got heaps of lollies and she could choose which ones of my clothes she wanted and which movies we'd watch.

When she left this Earth, we were on the departing side.
But can you imagine how it felt to see her arrive?
I miss you Kayleigh.