Karlton Noah Donaghey tragically died after the helium balloon got stuck in his head at home.
A devastated mother has issued an urgent warning to parents after their five-year-old son died when a helium balloon wrapped around his neck.
Karlton Noah Donaghey died tragically after the inflatable was stuck in his head at his family’s home in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, in the north-east of England.
His mother, Lisa Donaghey, 43, found him trapped in the dinosaur-shaped balloon after he tried to climb it on June 23rd. The sun reported.
The young man received cardiopulmonary resuscitation at the scene before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Karlton spent six days in intensive care before his ventilator was sadly turned off at Great North Children’s Hospital on June 29.
Lisa, a mother of four, now desperately warns parents of the dangers of helium balloons after losing their young son.
The cause of Karlton’s death is believed to have been gas ingestion, but this has not yet been confirmed by a coroner.
Lisa told ChronicleLive, “It’s a toxin that can take a life in seconds. It’s very dangerous.
“My son took his own life, I just wanted to be a dinosaur. It can take the life of a child and it can take the life of an adult.
“I want parents, grandparents, babysitters, adults, students, anyone who has come in contact with helium to be careful with the way they use it and dispose of it.
“A beautiful five-year-old has been taken too soon and would never put that pain on anyone.”
He explained how he had been enjoying the warm weather in the garden with his children Kaitlin, 25, Joe, 20, Will, 15, and Karlton before the tragedy.
The 43-year-old man had gone to see how Karlton was after going inside to use the toilet before finding him unconscious.
She recalled, “When I walked in, I was on the ground with the balloon over my head and neck.
“It was a dinosaur balloon the same size as him.
“I think he has put himself on the balloon to be a dinosaur to go out and surprise his nieces. I pulled the balloon out of him and yelled.
“I think I took him to the yard door. As a mother, I knew he was gone, he didn’t answer.
“His eyes were wide open and he was pale.”
The mother had bought the big green balloon for the five-year-old with her father Karl Donaghey, 35, six days earlier as a delight after visiting The Hoppings amusement park.
In a cruel twist of fate, it was Karlton’s first time at the attraction and he had enjoyed a day full of fun at the attractions.
Lisa continued: “He had behaved very well and had not asked for anything, he was never ungrateful.
“He was very polite, so he got a treat. He loved dinosaurs: it was probably one of his first words ‘roar of dinosaurs.’
He explained how his daughter Kaitlin and family neighbor Amiee Morrison had desperately tried to resuscitate Karlton until doctors arrived.
The mother said, “I just fell outside on the grass. I must have screamed and screamed and screamed.
“I could not bear to return. My little son was working. He was asleep with fear and terror.
“It took the ambulance four minutes to arrive, but it seemed like four hours.”
After arriving at the hospital, Lisa received the overwhelming news from a consultant that her son was in “very bad condition.”
She said, “I just touched the ground, I couldn’t get up. I was crying, ‘My boy, my boy.’ It was horrible.”
Karlton began to have 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, but he knew he was fighting with a little energy, that he took it all out.
“I said, ‘Stop being brave, go to sleep. I can cope without you and I can make you proud.’
“I told her, ‘Close your eyes and rest,’ and, ‘Don’t worry about mom.’ I promised my child I wouldn’t break.
“As a mother I knew I wouldn’t take him home. I am grateful to have spent the six days with him. “
In an emotional tribute to a beloved son, Lisa bought a Dachshund puppy she had ordered before her untimely death.
He named her Fudge touchingly after the giraffe mascot at Great North Children’s Hospital.
Lisa said, “She’s given us all precious comfort, she’s helping me get over it. She’s dead naughty but charming.
“Karlton was exactly the same, he was such a loving child. Karlton had a caring character and always thought of others.
“He was my little best friend and my little companion. We did it all together from morning to night.”
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission