“Don’t leave your babies alone with them,” Tiffany McIntyre says.
Two moms who share a tragic bond are on a mission to raise awareness that balloons are not toys after their daughters’ birthday balloons turn deadly.
Both of the women’s daughters died on their seventh birthday after they were suffocated from the helium inside Mylar balloons.
Mylar balloons are colorful, lightweight, and look almost toy-like, but they can be dangerous. When kids breathe in the helium inside them, it can have tragic and sometimes fatal results.
Channa Kelly says she took a nap while her daughter Alexandra played with her birthday balloons.
“I believe she cut the bottom and I believe that she put it over her head,” Kelly says.
It is unclear if Alexandra was trying to make a squeaky voice by sucking in the helium out of the balloon like many kids do.
When Kelly woke up, she found her daughter face-down in the living room.
“I pulled the balloon off as fast as I could,” Kelly tells Inside Edition. “I was expecting her to wake up. I was expecting her to pop up.”
The same horrific event happened to Tiffany McIntyre’s daughter Zahmira.
“I could see that the number seven Mylar balloon was completely over her head,” McIntyre says. “She wasn’t breathing.”
Like Alexandra, it is unclear if Zahmira had tried to make a squeaky voice with the helium.
Pediatric ICU physician Rishma Chand says organs can shut down quickly without oxygen.
“Helium is dangerous. If you wanna really try it or your child really wants to suck in the helium, just watch them do it,” Chand says.
Kelly and McIntyre encourage parents not to leave children alone with balloons.
