Mom’s tragic warning after son, 8, dies from balloon on birthday
The mother of the 8-year-old boy who tragically lost his life at his birthday celebration is pleading with other parents to refrain from purchasing a specific common decoration that led to her son’s death in what she describes as “one of the most tragic of accidents.”
Little Joshua Dunbar, an energetic and bright-eyed 8-year-old filled with dreams, had just enjoyed his birthday. The home was adorned with balloons, party hats, and all the delightful elements that accompany another year of life. However, just hours after the joy subsided, disaster struck in the most unimaginable manner.
‘It was time for him’
On April 27, 2024, Joshua was discovered alone and unresponsive in his bedroom. A large helium balloon shaped like the number eight – intended to celebrate his special day – was hovering above him.
Despite the desperate attempts of his family and the paramedics who hurried him to the hospital, Joshua’s tiny heart could not be revived.
“It was absolutely traumatic. You can’t erase it from your mind. You close your eyes, it’s all you see, it’s all you hear. You hear the screams, the shouts, the sirens. You hear the doctor’s words, saying to you that they’re really sorry. It was time for him,” his mother Carly shared with the Mirror.
“Then I just remember holding his hand. Me and dad had a hand each, and we just held his hands, and I said to him ‘son if your angel wings are there and you’re ready to take them, then take them. Mummy and Daddy are here with you and we’re with you all the way. If you’re ready to go son, you just go in peace,’” the heartbroken mother recounted about her son, whom she described as “one of a kind with the brightest blue eyes and the cheekiest smile.”
“Literally within minutes he was gone. It was as if he was waiting for me and his dad to give him that OK. These are visions I will never be able to erase or forget.
Suffocation
During an inquest regarding his death, the coroner determined that Joshua’s cause of death was “consistent with asphyxia due to a helium balloon.”
While helium itself is not harmful, Coroner Andre Rebello informed the Liverpool Echo that the gas had replaced the oxygen Joshua required for breathing.
“Inhaling helium obstructed the entry of oxygen into his body, and without oxygen, life cannot be sustained for long. This was an incredibly tragic day, as it began with a celebration.”
Describing it as “one of the most tragic accidents,” Rebello added, “Anyone with compassion would wonder what he was doing. Perhaps he didn’t realize that there was no air in the balloon, or maybe he was attempting to hear the helium affect his voice. I can’t say for sure. No one knows.”
“He was just a little boy in his room playing, and sadly, it led to fatal outcomes,” he remarked, noting that a child’s death is a “parent’s worst nightmare.”
‘Opt for air-filled balloons’
A few days after the heartbreaking loss of her son, Carly took to social media to advocate for a ban on helium-filled balloons.
“There is no remedy for a shattered heart or the agony of losing a child. Please believe me when I say do not purchase helium balloons for your children,” she expressed in a Facebook post, according to the Daily Mail. “Every day since, I’ve loathed myself for buying that balloon that took our boy, and I would never wish for another child or family to endure this nightmare! Opt for air-filled balloons instead.”
“With all my heart, I would never wish for another child to lose their life, nor for another family to endure the pain we experience every single day.”
Carly hopes that Joshua’s tragic loss will serve a purpose, and she is committed to transforming her family’s sorrow into a life-saving message, urging others to shield their children from the unseen threats she never anticipated.
“It’s pure torture, and it never gets easier, it truly doesn’t. If just one, two, or three people pause to reflect and heed my words, choosing not to purchase a helium balloon, that’s one child’s life saved.”
She continues, “That’s the essence of it all, preventing this from happening to another child, and the only way to achieve that is to refrain from buying helium balloons. Opt for the air-filled ones instead – they look just as lovely.”
So, the next time you’re organizing a celebration, take a moment to reconsider before you fill the air with floating decorations.