The mother of the 8-year-old boy who died at his birthday party is appealing to other parents to avoid a seemingly harmless decoration that cost her son his life – in one of the most tragic accidents ever.
Little Joshua Dunbar, an energetic child with bright eyes and big dreams, had just celebrated his birthday. The house was filled with balloons, party hats, and everything that goes with a joyful celebration. But just hours after the laughter died down, fate struck in the most unimaginable way.
It was his time.
On April 27, 2024, Joshua was found lifeless and unresponsive in his room. A large helium balloon in the shape of the number eight, part of his birthday, was floating above his head.
Despite desperate resuscitation attempts by his family and paramedics, Joshua’s little heart could not be restarted.
“It was absolutely traumatic. You can’t get it out of your mind. When you close your eyes, it’s all you see and hear. You hear the screams, the sirens, the doctors saying, ‘We’re so sorry.’ It was his time,” his mother, Carly, told the Mirror.
“I remember holding his hand. My dad and I each held one of his hands, and I said to him, ‘My son, when your angel wings are ready and you’re ready to take them, take them. Mom and Dad are with you, and we’ll guide you on your journey. When you’re ready to go, go in peace,'” the grieving mother said of her son, whom she described as “one of a kind, with the brightest blue eyes and the cheekiest smile.”
“In a few minutes, he was gone. It was as if he was waiting for his dad and me to give him permission. I’ll never forget those images.”
Asphyxiation
During the autopsy, the coroner confirmed that Joshua’s death was “consistent with asphyxiation by a helium-filled balloon.”
Although helium itself is not toxic, coroner Andre Rebello told the Liverpool Echo that the gas displaced the oxygen Joshua needed to breathe.
“Inhaling helium prevented oxygen from reaching his body. And without oxygen, life is not possible after a few minutes. It was an extremely tragic day because it had started with a celebration.”
Rebello called the incident “one of the most tragic accidents,” adding, “Anyone with a heart can imagine what he might have done. Perhaps he didn’t realize there was no air in the balloon, or he wanted to hear how his voice would change with helium. We don’t know. Nobody knows.”
“It was a little boy playing in his room – and tragically, it had fatal consequences,” he continued, calling the death of a child “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
Only air-filled balloons
A few days after Joshua’s tragic death, Carly addressed the public on social media and called for a ban on helium balloons.
“There is no cure for a broken heart or the pain of losing a child. Believe me when I tell you: don’t buy your children helium balloons,” she wrote on Facebook, according to the Daily Mail. “Since then, I’ve cursed myself every day for buying that balloon that cost our boy his life. I wouldn’t wish that suffering on anyone! Stick to balloons.”
“Hand on heart – I never want another child to die or another family to suffer the way we did.”
Carly hopes that Joshua’s tragic death wasn’t in vain and that her message can save lives by warning other parents about invisible dangers she herself would never have foreseen.
“It’s like torture, and it’s not getting better, really. If just one, two, or three people stopped, thought, and took my warning seriously and didn’t buy helium balloons, then a child would be saved.”
She adds:
“That’s what it’s all about—preventing it from happening to another child. And the only way is to stop buying helium balloons. Just buy balloons with air in them—they look just as beautiful.”
Next time you’re planning a party, think twice before using floating decorations.
