The Haynes family went through a terrible loss when their 13-year-old daughter Esra died because of chroming, a dangerous internet trend. The family is broken up from this terrible event, which has made them want to warn others about the risks of chroming.
Esra was a smart and clever girl who loved sports and was well-liked in her neighbourhood. She tried chroming by breathing spray deodorant at a friend’s house where she was having a sleepover. This caused cardiac failure and brain damage that will never go away.
Andrea and Paul Esra had to make the very hard choice to end their daughter’s life after eight days on life support. It’s hard for them to imagine the pain and grief they went through, and now they want to tell other parents about the risks of chroming.
In order to get a short-term high, chroming involves breathing in chemicals from common household things like hairspray, deodorant, or paint. But this can cause seizures, heart problems, suffocation, and even death.
Now Paul and Andrea’s goal is to teach kids and their parents about the dangers of chroming. They think that Esra could have been saved from a terrible death if they had known about this trend earlier.
The story of the Haynes family is a heartbreaking lesson of how important it is for parents to be educated and aware. They want to keep other families from going through the same pain and loss by telling others about theirs.
Our kids can be safe from chroming and other damaging trends if we talk to them about them in an open and honest way. As Paul said, “We need to step it up and let these kids find out the information firsthand, not through friends or social media.”
