An 8-year-old girl from Portland, Oregon was found dead with a big Mylar balloon over her head just about hours after celebrating her birthday. The devastated family is now creating awareness to all parents about the danger of balloon to children.
"It was a big Mylar balloon; it's like three-and-a-half feet tall. It was the number three. And they have different size fill holes. And the only think we could think is that she opened it and put it over her head and she suffocated," Pat McGloghlon, the girl's grandmother said.
According to Fox News, after seeing the girl not breathing and her foot under her blanket with a balloon over her head, the father performed CPR right away till the medical personnel arrived. They spent about an hour to recover the girl.
AOL reports that the officials said that the girl might have tried to slurp the helium in the balloon that caused the tragic death of the girl. They said that what happened was accidental and there was no need for further investigation.
The distressed family shared their little girl's tragic story for safety concerns and to educate the parents of this unrecognized dangers so that no other families would suffer the same pain.
According to Consumer Product Safety Commission, the balloons are the main cause of death through suffocation among the children in the U.S. They advise parents and guardians to supervise their children and not allowing children to age eight years and below to play with the uninflated balloon.
Dr. Alan Green, a pediatrician from California, shares some tips for parents to safeguard their children. He said that parents must not permit their child to play a balloon without their presence. Parents must watch their child playing a whole object or a circular part object that can fit into his mouth. Importantly, they must be equipped to administer an Infant and Child First Aid and CPR.
