I sent my girl, 7, to her room & she died in 20 seconds from suffocating on a birthday balloon – I can't forgive myself | The Sun

A MUM has spoken out to warn other parents of the dangers of helium balloons after her seven year old daughter was killed by her own birthday balloon.

Tiffany McIntyre, from Texas, was devastated when she walked into her daughter Zahmira’s bedroom and found her lifeless with the giant helium balloon over her head.

It’s thought that Zahmira burst the balloon whilst playing with it, and put it over her head where she was quickly overcome by the helium gas and suffocated.

Tiffany, 32, a single mum, and Zahmira’s younger sister Charleigh, six, have been left devastated by their loss.

Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Tiffany says: “Charleigh asks about her sister every day and says how much she misses her. It’s heartbreaking.

“And every time she sees a balloon she tells everyone that it hurt her sister. She and Zahmira did everything together, they were inseparable.”

It was in September 2020 during Covid that Zahmira was having school lessons online, and after one lesson where she hadn’t been concentrating properly, Tiffany sent her daughter into her bedroom to lie on her bunk bed.

“I told her she needed to listen to her teacher,” Tiffany says. 

“Zahmira had ADHD and she kept getting out of her seat and not paying attention. 

“So when the lesson finished I told her to go have a lie down whilst I cleaned the house.

“I put on a movie for Charleigh to watch in the lounge, and I was cleaning my bedroom twenty minutes later when I realised I hadn’t heard Zahmira call out to me, which was unusual, so I went in the bedroom to check on her.”

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Tiffany could see her daughter’s pink blanket lying bunched up around her, and she was lying down. 

But as she went towards the bed she could see she was flat on her back, with her birthday helium balloon over her head.

The balloon had been tied to her bedpost after her birthday celebrations. 

“I yanked the balloon off her head, and carried her down the ladder and took her into the living room and laid her on the floor, then called 911,” said Tiffany. 

“I couldn’t get through at first, so I was hysterical and ran outside screaming for help.

“Then I went back inside and tried 911 again, and got through, and started doing CPR on her myself. “

The paramedics arrived within minutes and took over. 

They initially found a heartbeat and raced Zahmira to hospital, where she was put on a life support machine. But they had devastating news for Tiffany.

“The doctors told me that she wasn’t responding to any tests, and it didn’t look good,” the mum-of-two explains.

Charleigh asks about her sister every day and says how much she misses her. It’s heartbreaking.

Tragically Zahmira didn’t make it, and her life support machine was turned off.

“Her brain had swelled too much, that there was no coming back from it,” says Tiffany. 

“The doctors told me that inhaling the helium when she put the balloon over her head had knocked her out within seconds. 

“They said it was like it put her to sleep and she never woke up from it.”

Now Tiffany and Charleigh just have each other.

“I’ve been diagnosed with severe depression because of it,” says Tiffany. 

“If it wasn’t for Charlie I wouldn’t have survived losing Zahmira.”

Her main aim now is to raise awareness about the dangers of helium balloons.

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Tiffany says: “Thousands of parents have reached out to be because of what happened, and none of them knew how dangerous a helium balloon can be.

“I’ve always known about the dangers of children choking on deflated latex balloons, but I never knew about helium ones. 

“I can’t even see a helium balloon now without breaking down.

“I would warn parents that if they do buy one, then never leave children alone with them. I want to see if I can arrange to visit schools to spread awareness.

“Zahmira was such a fun loving little girl. She loved unicorns, playing hoopla and Barbies with Charleigh and she loved to draw too. She had her whole life ahead of her. 

“Her sister asks about her every day, and says how much she misses her, and it's so heartbreaking. 

“I need to spread awareness about the dangers so no other family gets ripped apart like ours did.”

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Dangers of balloons

According to the the London Helium Balloons company, there are many dangers associated with balloons.

The following warnings apply to both latex and foil balloons:

• Read all instructions and warnings before using the balloons
• Inflate balloons using a pump, away from the face & eyes
• Where applicable or supervising, always use un-inflated balloons away from young children (Toy safety standard considers potential choking hazard for children under 8 years from broken and un-inflated balloons)
• Dispose of all plastic bags and packaging attachments associated with the item supplied
• After event/use, destroy & dispose of the items carefully.

The following warnings also apply to latex balloons:
• Children under eight years can choke or suffocate on un-inflated balloons. Adult supervision is required.

• Keep un-inflated balloons away from children. Discard broken balloons at once.

The following warning also applies to foil balloons:
Do not release outdoors or near electric power lines.

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