‘He was the perfect gentleman and loved the outdoors’
Affectionately known as ‘Smotherson’ to his family because of the love and affection that he would envelope them in, the untimely death of 15-year-old Kaden Moodley has dealt a huge blow to his family who are coming to terms with his passing.
THE family of 15-year-old Kaden Moodley, who collapsed and died after experiencing difficulty in breathing during a warm-up soccer game at Glenwood High School on Tuesday, cannot believe that he is no more as they prepare to lay him to rest on Friday, March 21.
His older sister, Tammy Moodley, described him as a “gentleman with a good heart and a unique voice”. “I still cannot believe that I will never hear his unique voice ever again,” said a tearful Moodley as she recalled the close bond that she shared with him.
“Kaden was such a gentleman, he would open doors for us and he would save money to take me out on sibling dates, that is the kind of person he was. He would light up a room and he was always full of jokes. I have yet to accept that he is actually gone, and that we will never see him or hear his voice again,” said Moodley.
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Kaden, who was a Grade 10 learner at Glenwood High School, was participating in a warm-up soccer game when he requested to be substituted and stepped aside for some air. Tragically, he collapsed, and despite the tireless efforts of paramedics to resuscitate him, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Moodley said Kaden’s twin brother, who also attends the same school, alerted the family to the incident. “Kellun was actually not at school on Tuesday, he got a call from his friends telling him that Kaden had collapsed. He called my mom who was luckily near the school and she was able to get there quickly. We came a little later,” said Moodley.
“When we got there, the paramedics told us there was nothing that they could do as they had been trying to resuscitate Kaden for over half an hour. He was not a sickly person, Kaden was fit and loved drinking water. He was an outdoors person, so we do not know how this happened, he was perfect in the morning and the day before.”
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Kaden was the third of four siblings, and the life of the family. Moodley said he was a generous person who was “super affectionate”. “I had a nickname for him, ‘Smotherson’, because he would smother me with love and affection all the time. He loved that name, we even got matching T-shirts. He was kind and would literally give his last R50 to the underprivileged,” said Moodley.
On Facebook, his father, Thevan Moodley, shared an image of Kaden taken a few minutes before his untimely passing. In the captions he wrote, “My son Kaden Moodley, just 15 years old has returned home to the angels. Until we meet again baby boy, life will never be the same again.”
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