HEARTBROKEN parents have issued an urgent warning after their little girl, 13, died after trying a popular internet trend.
Esra Haynes tragically passed away when she inhaled chemicals from a deodorant can – an act known as “chroming”.
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The year eight high school student from Melbourne, Australia, partook in the shocking trend at a sleepover on March 31, 2023.
Devastated mum and dad, Paul and Andrea Haynes, told A Current Affair: “It was just the regular routine of going to hang out with her mates.
“We always knew where she was and we knew who she was with. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
“To get this phone call at that time of night, it was one of the calls no parent ever wants to have to receive and we unfortunately got that call: ‘Come and get your daughter.’
“We’ve got the pictures in our mind which will never be erased, you know, of what we were confronted with.”
Esra had gone into cardiac arrest and was raced to hospital by paramedics where she was quickly put on life support.
Her hopeful parents thought they would be bringing their daughter home.
But, a scan uncovered the young teen had suffered irreparable brain damage.
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Tragically she passed away eight days later, leaving behind “heartbroken” parents and three “shattered” siblings, Imogen, Seth and Charlie.
“She was put onto a bed so we could lay with her,'” Paul said.
“We cuddled her until he end.”
‘Chroming’ became a craze in Australia from 2009 and involves inhaling chrome-based household products such as paint, deodorant and bug spray.
It gives a temporary high, similar to the effects of alcohol.
Esra’s parents are now in a battle to spread awareness and prevent the potentially fatal activity stealing any more lives.
Paul told the Herald Sun: “It’s unquestionable that this will be our crusade.”
Esra’s sister, Imogen, told 7News: “We definitely have a mission to raise awareness for kids and anyone that does it.
“We don’t want that to happen to anyone else. We don’t want another family to go through this, it’s absolutely horrible.”
Chrome-based spray paint is only available to over 18s in all Australian jurisdictions.
In the Outback town of Mount Isa, kids as young as seven were daily inhaling the toxic fumes.
In recent years, big names such as Coles, Kmart and Woolworths began locking up aerosol products and required ID to buy.
We’ve got the pictures in our mind which will never be erased, you know, of what we were confronted with.”
Paul and Andrea Haynes
Now stores across Queensland, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Northern Territory, WA and SA are doing the same, as well as others.
Esra was a promising athlete, leading a national aerobics championship team, racing BMX bikes, and co-leading her netball team.
Heartfelt tributes have poured in following her death.
Friends described her as the “one girl who could put a smile on anyone’s face no matter what.”
One pal Abbey wrote: “There wasn’t one day in the past three years you’ve not made my day by your contagious laugh and gorgeous smile.
“My heart aches and it doesn’t feel real knowing I’ll have to say goodbye to you Esra. You’re so young. You were gone too soon.
“I’ll stay trying to make you proud. and continue doing the things that made you happy. I endlessly love and miss you Esra. Rest In Paradise my love.”
Esra’s football and netball club said she was: “Determined, fun, cheeky and talented, she will be greatly missed by her teammates, coaches, and the wider community of our club.”
KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE
Internet expert Allison Troutner listed eight ways to keep kids safe online:
- Consider a family “tech agreement”
- Report any harmful content that you see
- Balance safety with independence
- Keep the computer in a common space
- Password-protect all accounts and devices
- Update your operating systems regularly
- Install security or antivirus software programs and a VPN on your computer
- Set parental controls
Find out more about each step in this article by The Sun.
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