Parents forced to pull plug on daughter after sleepover horror

Ally Langdon of Australia expressed profound sorrow while conversing with a couple who faced the heart-wrenching decision to end the life of their daughter, whom they had nurtured for just 13 years. The young girl succumbed to the dangers of a viral trend known as chroming, and Langdon, a mother herself, found it difficult to contain her emotions.

During an appearance on A Current Affair, Andrea and Paul Haynes recounted the tragic story of their 13-year-old daughter, Esra Haynes, who lost her life after engaging in a social media phenomenon called chroming. This practice involves inhaling harmful chemicals through the mouth or nose to achieve a high.

Esra was described by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she served as co-captain, as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented.” She was an accomplished young athlete, racing BMX bikes alongside her brothers and leading her team to a national aerobics championship in Queensland.

On March 31, Esra attended a friend’s house for a sleepover, where she tragically inhaled aerosol deodorant, leading to cardiac arrest and irreversible brain damage.

“It was just the usual routine of spending time with her friends,” her mother, Andrea, shared with Langdon during the interview.

Her father, Paul, remarked, “We always knew her whereabouts and who she was with. It was nothing out of the ordinary… Receiving that phone call late at night was something no parent ever wishes to experience, yet we received that call: ‘Come and get your daughter.’”

Langdon noted that Esra’s friends initially believed she was experiencing a panic attack. However, after inhaling the deodorant, her body began to fail, and she went into cardiac arrest, a term that was unfamiliar to those at the sleepover. When Andrea reached her daughter, paramedics were attempting to revive Esra and informed her that her daughter had been chroming, a term she had never encountered until that moment.
Esra was admitted to the hospital, clinging to the hope that their baby girl would recover. Given her strong heart and lungs, there was a possibility she might pull through. However, after eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea received the heartbreaking news that Esra’s brain had suffered irreparable damage, necessitating the difficult decision to turn off the life support machine.

Struggling to articulate their grief and reliving their most painful day, her parents shared the anguish of having to end their daughter’s life. They were asked to gather family and friends at the hospital for final farewells. Esra’s father remarked, “It was an incredibly difficult thing to do for such a young soul. She was placed on a bed so we could be with her. We held her close until the very end.”

Langdon, a mother of two young children, was deeply moved by the parents’ sorrow and found it hard to hold back her tears.

Following Esra’s passing in early April, Paul expressed that the family feels utterly “broken,” with Esra’s siblings, Imogen, Seth, and Charlie, feeling “shattered.”

“It has been devastating for everyone involved, including all her friends,” Paul stated. “This has been the most challenging and traumatic experience any parent could endure. We have struggled to sleep, eat, and find joy—we are not ourselves… This tragedy has impacted not just us, but the entire community as well.”

Having been unaware of chroming until it claimed their daughter’s life, Paul and his wife are now dedicated to raising awareness about this dangerous trend, which involves inhaling substances from common household products like deodorant, paint, hairspray, or permanent markers, and is increasingly prevalent among teenagers.

In an interview with a local news outlet, Paul expressed his regret for not knowing about chroming while Esra was alive, wishing he could have warned her about its dangers: “If we had been informed and the issue had been publicized, we would have certainly discussed it around our kitchen table.”
It is imperative that we intensify our efforts to ensure that children acquire information directly, rather than relying on peers or social media, thereby equipping them with accurate guidance from the outset.

Paul intends to provide education to parents, empowering them to educate their children and, in turn, potentially safeguarding their lives.

“Parents must engage in conversations with their children, gently initiating discussions. We certainly were unaware of the issues at hand.”

Since 2009, the troubling phenomenon of chroming has led to the tragic deaths of numerous children in Australia and globally. This practice, which can result in seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, sudden sniffing death, comas, and organ failure, appeals to youth seeking an immediate, short-lived high.

“We are haunted by the images we encountered, which will forever remain etched in our minds,” Paul shared with Langdon. “Our hearts were shattered.”

It is unimaginable for a family to face the heart-wrenching decision of removing their young child from life support. Our deepest sympathies extend to the Haynes family and all those who mourn the loss of Esra.

Disseminate this story widely to assist parents in safeguarding their children by raising awareness about the perils associated with this deadly trend.