Ally Langdon of Australia expressed profound sorrow during her conversation with a couple who faced the heart-wrenching choice of ending the life of their daughter, whom they had nurtured for just 13 years.
The young girl succumbed to a viral trend known as chroming, and Langdon, a mother herself, found it difficult to contain her emotions. In an episode of A Current Affair, Andrea and Paul Haynes recounted the tragic story of their 13-year-old daughter, Esra Haynes, who lost her life after engaging in a social media phenomenon called chroming, which involves inhaling harmful chemicals to achieve a high.
Esra, described as “determined, fun, cheeky, and talented” by the Montrose Football Netball Club, where she served as co-captain, was an aspiring athlete who enjoyed BMX racing with her brothers and led her team to a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
On March 31, Esra attended a friend’s house for a sleepover, where she tragically inhaled aerosol deodorant, leading to cardiac arrest and irreversible brain damage. “It was just the regular routine of going to hang out with her mates,” her mother Andrea shared with Langdon during the interview.
Paul, her father, remarked: ‘We were always aware of her whereabouts and the company she kept. There was nothing unusual about it…
Receiving that phone call at such a late hour was one of those calls that no parent ever wishes to receive, and regrettably, we received that call: ‘Come and get your daughter.’”
Langdon clarifies that Esra’s friends believed she was experiencing a panic attack, ‘but after inhaling deodorant, her body was beginning to shut down; she was in cardiac arrest, and no one at the sleepover recognized the signs of cardiac arrest.’
When Andrea reached Esra, paramedics were attempting to revive her and informed her mother that her daughter had been engaging in chroming, a term she had never encountered until that moment.
Esra was transported to the hospital, and her family clung to the hope that their beloved daughter would recover. After all, her heart and lungs were robust, so perhaps she would pull through.
Following eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea received the heartbreaking news that Esra’s brain had suffered irreversible damage, necessitating the decision to disconnect the machines.
As they struggled to articulate their grief and relive their most painful moment, her parents shared the anguish of having to end their daughter’s life.
They were asked to gather family and friends at the hospital for final farewells, and Esra’s father remarked, ‘It was an incredibly difficult task to undertake for such a young soul. We placed her on a bed so we could be close to her, holding her until the very end.’
Unaware of chroming until it tragically claimed their daughter’s life, Paul and his wife are now dedicated to raising awareness about this lethal viral trend—easily accessible through common products such as deodorant, paint, hairspray, or even permanent markers—that is gaining traction among teenagers.
Paul expressed his regret for not knowing about chroming while Esra was alive, as he could have warned her about its dangers: ‘Had we been informed and the issue had been publicized, we would have certainly discussed it around our kitchen table.
We must intensify our efforts to ensure that these young individuals receive accurate information directly, rather than relying on peers or social media, so they can receive proper guidance from the outset.’ Paul aims to educate parents, empowering them to inform their children and potentially save lives. ‘
Parents need to engage in conversations with their children and gently initiate discussions about this topic. We certainly were unaware of what was happening.’ Since 2009, the concerning phenomenon of chroming has led to the deaths of numerous children in Australia and around the globe.
Chroming, which can result in seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, sudden sniffing death, coma, and organ failure, is appealing to youth as a means of achieving an immediate short-term high. “The images we witnessed will forever remain etched in our minds,” Paul expressed to Langdon. “It was a gut-wrenching experience for us.”
We cannot fathom the anguish a family endures when faced with the heart-wrenching decision to remove their young child from life support. Our deepest sympathies are with the Haynes family and all those who mourn the loss of Esra.
Please share this story widely to help parents understand the dangers associated with this deadly trend and potentially save the lives of their children.
