A 13-year-old Australian woman attending a sleepover with a friend is believed to have died after inhaling the chemicals from a spray deodorant to create a temporary buzz, a trend believed to be popular among young people.
“It was the hardest and most traumatic time a parent could go through. We haven’t slept, we’ve hardly eaten, we haven’t smiled – we’re not ourselves anymore,” said Paul Haynes, the young victim’s father, in an interview with the Australian program “Sunrise.” Tuesday.
The father of the family received a call last month asking him to urgently retrieve his 13-year-old daughter, Esra Haynes, who had just passed out during a slumber party in Melbourne, Australia.
During the evening, the young girl would have inhaled spray deodorant to create a temporary “high” comparable to the effect of certain drugs. Other young people would use metallic paint, solvents, gasoline and household chemicals, among other things.
This trend, which attracts some young people, can cause heart problems and pain, in addition to affecting the brain, liver and kidneys, according to an Australian federal government website, the media continued.
“In the end we had to make the decision to turn off his life support. It was really devastating, devastating for everyone involved, including all his friends,” the father continued, indicating that his brain has not recovered.
Devastated by the loss of their healthy daughter, who was notably co-captain of the soccer team, the family wanted to tell her story to warn other parents and prevent other young people from being tempted themselves.
“If we had been made aware and the word got around, we would have discussed it around the dinner table. [Les parents] need to sit down to have a discussion with their children and just please open the conversation with them. We certainly didn’t know what was going on,” he added to the Australian media.
