Mom shares gut-wrenching photo of son, 12, in coffin to show result of bullying

Bullying is never okay. Whether it is in school, online, or anywhere else, no one deserves to be physically or verbally bullied in any way.

But somehow, despite all efforts, bullying continues today. In a survey on StopBullying.gov, nearly 28 percent of children grades 6-12 revealed they'd been victims of bullying, and 30 percent of other kids admitted to bullying others. And even if people see bullying happening, most only interject about 20-30 percent of the time.

And in an age of constant connection, new devices, social media platforms and apps make it easier than ever for bullying to occur. According to a Comparitech survey of 1,011 parents with children ages 6-19+, an average of nearly 55 percent reported their children have been bullied.

Nearly 83 percent reported occurrences happening at school, over 32 percent reported bullying happening on the bus, and nearly 20 percent said their kids were bullied over social media and apps.

Bullying should never be happening to begin with, and circumstances surrounding a bullied child are often tragic.

One Mississippi mother, Cheryl Hudson, has experienced this first-hand. Her 12-year-old son Andy had been a victim of bullies.

"He’d been bullied off and on through most of the school year," she explained.

Those bullying Andy had been calling him names and threatened to physically attack him. But when he and his mom approached his school about it, nothing was done.

"We talked to the school a few times on it, and they didn’t really do much about it," Cheryl said.

"The school that he went to has got an abundance of bullying in that school. The kids can’t even go to the bathroom without fear."

After months of enduring bullying from his classmates, Andy couldn't take any more. The 12-year-old tragically decided to take his own life in his father's garage.

"He hung himself," his mom said, "his 15 year-old brother found him. He did leave a note. In fact, he left a few. There were a few different notes that were found, where he’s been thinking of this for quite some time."

Now his family has decided to campaign against bullying to stop others from going through what Andy did.

On the day of Andy's funeral, Cheryl posted a gut-wrenching photo of her son's body in his coffin.

Warning: the following image may be graphic and distressing to some.

In posting the photo, the heartbroken mother and Andy's family hope that bullies might think about the consequences of their cruel actions.

"Andy was a very fun-loving, outgoing very smart kid. He was funny, he was sarcastic, he was compassionate. He was my pride and joy, he was a momma’s boy, and he was proud to admit that."

"We are going to make sure that Andy’s voice is heard, and his death is not in vain."

Our thoughts and prayers are with Andy's family during this tragic time.

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This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.