8-year-old boy dies after inhaling helium from birthday party balloon

The parents of the Irish boy who died after inhaling helium from a balloon for his birthday party warned other families last week to make sure they dispose of any materials containing gas to avoid a similar tragedy in the future.

Luke Ramone Harper, 8, suffered fatal brain injuries after inhaling helium from his number “8” balloon that had been purchased a week earlier for his party.

The incident occurred on April 2, 2021, and the case is now being heard at the Dublin District Coroner's Court, reported The Daily Mail.

Hilary McSweeney, Luke's mother, said last Friday that the boy was playing with the balloon on the second floor of the house a day before he passed away. She found his motionless body face down with the balloon on his face and took him to the backyard for fresh air.

McSweeney claimed that the balloon was already partially deflated because it had been floating in the living room for a few days after Luke's birthday party.

The inquest claims that she and Luke's father, Martin Harper, gave their son chest compressions while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

The mother said she knew that Luke, who had autism and had been diagnosed with ADHD, was in "trouble" because of the amount of time paramedics had worked on him before taking him by ambulance to the hospital. Once there, she learned he went into cardiac arrest.

Responding to inquiries from Coroner Cróna Gallagher, McSweeney said that his son had always had helium balloons at his parties, but a similar incident had never occurred.

Harper indicated that Luke that children would sometimes inhale helium to make their voice change, but the family believes Luke was trying to inflate the balloon again and "passed out."

An autopsy showed that the child died due to a lack of oxygen to the brain due to cardiac arrest caused by helium inhalation. Gallagher returned a verdict of accidental death.