Shannon Eastman means it when she tells young people to "think before you do, think twice - if you don't, you are going to pay for it with your life."

Hers is a strong message to teens, a desperate plea that can save lives.

Eastman knows all too well. On May 4, she endured the most painful experience on earth, the result of what some say was a freak accident.

While Eastman was away from her North Highline home for five minutes that afternoon, picking up one of her children from school, her son Scott Bruhn Jr., a sibling and others were building a bonfire in the backyard.

Bruhn decided to intensify the blaze and poured gasoline on it. But flames from the fire pit followed him. The gasoline container exploded, engulfing him in flames.

The magnitude of the impact was so strong that it threw Bruhn against a parked camper. He darted toward the front of the house, where his 18-year-old sibling frantically tried to help him.

Eastman returned to find her son with 95 percent of his body burned to the bone and suffering from smoke inhalation.

He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center's Burn Unit. En route, he talked to medics about family, friends and school.

The next seven hours were excruciating. Doctors and nurses told Eastman there was nothing they could do but keep her son comfortable.

As a mother, she knew the outcome was inevitable. Yet when her son died, "I thought that I was going to die myself," she says.

Eastman recalled every detail of that dreadful event as she wandered in the charred area that used to be a fire pit.

She is grateful that she had recently quit work to spend more time with her children. Had Eastman not done this, she would not have come home to find her son.

Because she was there, mother and son had time to exchange brief goodbyes and words of love.

A Scott Bruhn Jr. Memorial Fund has been established at US Bank at 9800 15th Ave. S.W. in White Center to help pay for Bruhn's final arrangements. Any US Bank will accept donations.

Eastman said if any money remains, she plans to give it to the Harborview Burn Unit.

Bruhn, an Evergreen High School freshman, loved life, according to his mother.

He enjoyed football, basketball, video games and X-Box. He frequently visited his grandparents, Donita and Ken Smith. Nearly 6 feet tall, he would still sit on Grandma Donita's and mom's laps.

Bruhn dreamed of graduating - getting that "good enough education decree" as he called the GED - and being a truck driver or a police officer.

He also enjoyed playing catch with his mom.

"He was a big teddy bear. He's got a rough exterior but he's a kitty cat inside," Eastman says.

She shows her pride for her son by wearing a white t-shirt with his picture. Across the top, it says, "My son My love. You will never be forgotten and will be forever missed. R.I.P." Hearts surround the words.

Friends and students at Evergreen High School have worn shirts with Bruhn's picture as well and have been supportive.

Around Eastman's neck is a chain with a shiny gold key to the elegant, glossy cherry wood box that contains Bruhn's ashes.

She has one half of the ashes and Bruhn's father in North Dakota has the other half.

The box sits atop her dresser with her son's black stocking hat on it.

Eastman said she rubs it before going to bed to feel close to him. She noticed after Bruhn's memorial service that, in an odd way, this brought her peace.

To have the box there makes it feel like he is "back home physically," she says.

Eastman has always taught her children the basic, loving things of life: "never leave mad, don't go to bed mad and kiss and make up."

She also taught Bruhn not to make bonfires.

It was eerie when she recalled a recent medical insurance appointment for her son. As the medical insurance business was complete and she started to leave, the employee made a casual, off-the-cuff remark about Bruhn - "Tell him not to go out there and get hurt."

Approximately a week later, he was dead.

How does a parent re-build their life after the death of a child?

Eastman realizes she is in a position now to spare others from this heartbreak and unimaginable pain.

In addition to her warnings to young people against playing with fire, she also has a message for parents. "Love your children every day. Hug and kiss them. Let them know you're proud of them."

As she has tucked her children into bed at night, she encourages others to take the time to make these small gestures.

Her other four children, Britnee, William, Jessica and Joshua, are a real sense of support and motivation for her to live each day.

Eastman is trying with every fiber of her being, to think positive.

Glancing at Britnee, who is 13, she observed, "There are good things to come. There is still life to live. He would want us to live closer as a family."

Doctors initially prescribed medication to dull the emotional pain but Eastman believes, "I need to feel the pain to get through it."

Attempting to smile through the tears, she says, "This is God's biggest test."

Joy Henley may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com