Mother warns after her 7-year-old daughter died within 20 seconds of choking on her helium-filled birthday balloon
- Tiffany McIntyre, 32, of Texas, found Zahmira lifeless in her bedroom
A mother has issued a warning after her seven-year-old daughter died within 20 seconds of choking on a helium-filled birthday balloon.
Tiffany McIntyre, 32, from Texas, discovered her daughter Zahmira lifeless in her bedroom with the balloon above her head.
In September 2020, Zahmira took online school classes during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tiffany said that after one of the classes where she lost focus, she sent her daughter to her room to lie on the bunk bed.
She said Zahmira had ADHD and kept leaving her chair, so she told her to lie down while she cleaned the house.
Tiffany McIntyre (right), 32, from Texas, discovered her seven-year-old daughter Zahmira (left) lifeless in her bedroom with the balloon above her head
When she went to check on her daughter, she saw that she was lying flat on her back.
“I could see Mylar number seven balloon was all the way over her head,” Tiffany said Inside edition. “She wasn’t breathing.”
The balloon was attached to her bedpost after the festivities.
“I ripped the balloon off her head, carried her down the ladder and took her into the living room, laid her on the floor and then called 911,” Tiffany said. The sun.
“I couldn’t get through at first, so I got hysterical and ran outside screaming for help.”
Tiffany said she then went back inside and tried to call 911 again, and managed to get through, before starting to revive her.
She said paramedics arrived within minutes.
They found a heartbeat and rushed Zahmira to the hospital, where she was put on life support.
But doctors told Tiffany she wasn’t responding to tests and things didn’t look hopeful.
Zahmira unfortunately died due to swelling of her brain.
Tiffany said doctors told her that inhaling the helium had knocked her out “within seconds,” as if it had put her “to sleep and she never woke up from it.”
Tiffany and Charleigh are heartbroken over the loss.
Zahmira and her six-year-old younger sister Charleigh. Tiffany described Zahmira as a “happy little girl” who loved unicorns, hoopla and Barbies
Tiffany said she has been diagnosed with severe depression as a result of the tragedy and Charleigh is keeping her going.
She now wants to raise awareness about the dangers of helium balloons.
She said thousands of parents have reached out and she wants to warn people not to leave their children alone with helium balloons.
Tiffany described her daughter as a “happy little girl” who loved unicorns, hoopla and Barbies.
She also noted that Charleigh asks about her daily and says she misses her immensely.
Another mother, Channa Kelly, from Tennessee, also suffered a similar tragedy.
She took a nap while her seven-year-old daughter Alexandra played with her birthday balloons.
When she woke up, she discovered her face down in the living room.
“I believe she cut the bottom and I believe she put it over her head,” Channa told Inside Edition.
“I pulled the balloon off as quickly as I could,” Channa said. ‘I expected her to wake up. I expected her to show up.”