Bullying is a serious issue that affects million of children all over the world. Sadly, this seventh grader named Liam recently became a victim of bullying himself.

Liam was a typical teenager who loved to play soccer and hang out with his friends. His mother, however, sensed something was wrong when her son no longer wanted to have a cellphone. Teens, after all, are notoriously addicted to their cell phones so something seemed off when Liam shunned it.

Soon, Liam stopped bringing his soccer gear everywhere and no longer wanted to hang out with his friends. He then went from eating everything that he could to eating virtually nothing at all.

“I was determined to get to the bottom of my son’s sudden and severe dismissal of his former passions, but he was so secretive and closed off,” his mother Deirdre recalled.

When Liam refused to go to school one day, his mother finally sat him down for a talk. It was then that he admitted to her that he was being bullied.

“I asked how often they did this to him,” Deirdre said. “He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Every day, Mom.’”

Liam told his mother that his bullies had decided that he “sucked” and never should have made the soccer team. They called him mean names, physically abused him, and even told him to kill himself.

Deirdre immediately took action and confronted the parents of the bullies, but these parents refused to take responsibility for what their children were doing. Meanwhile, Liam had to be put on a feeding tube and heart monitor for his eating disorder and malnutrition

Deirdre felt helpless, and she decided to go public with Liam’s story in order to help others.

“I felt like I needed to shout Liam’s story from the rooftops,” she said.  “The words just fell out of me. It was cathartic. I read it over and over to myself and hit send.”

Liam’s story quickly went viral and people started the hashtag #WeStandWithLiam. Liam was touched by all the support that he received.

After ten weeks of treatment, Liam was finally healthy enough to go home. He surprised everyone by going back to the same school and even finishing out the soccer season with his team.

Liam’s story fortunately has a happy ending. We wish Liam the best in the future and pray that no child has to suffer at the hands of bullies.