Urgent warning to parents over helium balloons after boy, 5, died when inflatable became ‘wrapped around his neck’
A DEVASTATED mum has issued an urgent warning to parents after her five-year-old son died when a helium balloon became wrapped around his neck. Karlton Noah Donaghey tragically passed away after the inflatable became stuck over his head at his family home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. His heartbroken mum Lisa Donaghey, 43, found him […]
A DEVASTATED mum has issued an urgent warning to parents after her five-year-old son died when a helium balloon became wrapped around his neck.
Karlton Noah Donaghey tragically passed away after the inflatable became stuck over his head at his family home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
His heartbroken mum Lisa Donaghey, 43, found him trapped in the dinosaur-shaped balloon after he tried to climb inside it on June 23.
The youngster was given CPR at the scene before being airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Karlton spent six days in intensive care before his ventilator was sadly switched off at The Great North Children’s Hospital on June 29.
Mum-of-four Lisa is now desperately warning parents of the dangers of helium balloons after losing her youngest son.
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The cause of Karlton’s death is believed to be the intake of the gas, however, this is yet to be confirmed by a coroner.
Lisa told ChronicleLive: “It’s a toxic that can take a life in seconds. It’s very dangerous.
“It’s taken my son’s life, he was just wanting to playfully be a dinosaur. It can take a child’s life and it can take an adult’s life.
“I want parents, grandparents, childminders, adults, students, anyone that has come into contact with helium to be cautious about the ways they use it and dispose of it.
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“A precious five-year-old has been taken too soon and I would never ever put this pain on anybody.”
She told how she had been enjoying the warm weather in the garden with her children Kaitlin, 25, Joe, 20, Will, 15, and Karlton before the tragedy.
The 43-year-old had gone to check on Karlton after he went inside to use the toilet before finding him unconscious.
She recalled: “When I came in he was on the floor with the balloon over his head and his neck.
“It was a dinosaur balloon which was the same size as him.
“I think he’s put himself in the balloon to be a dinosaur to go outside and surprise his nieces. I pulled the balloon off him and I screamed.
“I think I carried him to the patio door. As a mother, I knew he was gone, he was unresponsive.
“He had his eyes wide open and he was pale.”
It’s taken my son’s life, he was just wanting to playfully be a dinosaur. It can take a child’s life and it can take an adult’s life.
Lisa Donaghey
The mum had purchased the large green balloon for the five-year-old with his dad Karl Donaghey, 35, six days earlier as a treat after visiting The Hoppings funfair.
In a cruel twist of fate, it was Karlton’s first time at the attraction and he had enjoyed a fun-filled day on the rides.
Lisa continued: “He had been really well behaved and he hadn’t asked for anything, he was never ungrateful.
“He was really well mannered so he got a treat. He loved dinosaurs – ‘dinosaur roar’ was probably one of his first words.”
She told how her daughter Kaitlin and the family’s neighbour Amiee Morrison had desperately tried to revive Karlton until medics arrived.
The mum said: “I just collapsed outside on the grass. I must have screamed and screamed and screamed.
“I couldn’t bear to come back in. My little boy was getting worked on. I was numb with fear and terror.
“It took four minutes for the ambulance to arrive but it felt like four hours.”
After arriving at the hospital, Lisa was given the crushing news from a consultant that her son was in “a really bad way”.
She said: “I just hit the floor, I couldn’t get up. I was crying: ‘My baby boy, my baby boy’. It was just horrible.”
FAMILY HEARTBREAK
Karlton began to suffer from seizures while in critical care, before doctors told his loved ones there was nothing they could do to save him.
Lisa sobbed: “He was trying to fight on but I knew he was fighting with a little ounce of energy, it was taking it all out of him.
“I told him: ‘Stop being brave, go to sleep. I can cope without you and I can do you proud’.
“I told him: ‘Just close your eyes and rest’ and: ‘Don’t worry about mammy’. I promised my little boy that it wouldn’t break me.
“I knew as a mother I wasn’t going to bring him home. I’m just grateful to have had the six days with him.”
In a touching tribute to a beloved son, Lisa purchased a Dachshund puppy he had begged for before his untimely death.
She poignantly named him Fudge after the giraffe mascot at The Great North Children’s Hospital.
Lisa said: “He’s brought a beautiful comfort to all of us, he’s helping me through it. He’s dead mischievous but lovely.
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“Karlton was the exact same, he was such a loving kid. Karlton had a caring nature and he always thought of others.
“He was my little best friend and my little sidekick, we did everything together from morning until night.”
