Mother warns other parents: 'Don't buy this!' after son tragically dies at his birthday party

The mother of an 8-year-old boy who died at his birthday party is pleading with other parents to avoid buying a common decoration that claimed the life of her young son in what has been described as “one of the most tragic accidents.

Little Joshua Denver, a bright-eyed, energetic 8-year-old full of dreams, had just celebrated his birthday. The house was filled with balloons, party hats, and all the little touches that make birthdays special. But only hours after the laughter and celebration had faded, a tragedy unfolded in the most unimaginable way.

“It was his time”

On April 27, 2024, Joshua was found unconscious and alone in his bedroom. A large helium balloon shaped like the number eight—meant to mark his special day—was positioned above his head.

Despite the desperate efforts of his family and the paramedics who rushed him to the hospital, Joshua’s little heart stopped beating.

“It was completely traumatic. You can’t erase it from your mind. You close your eyes and it’s all you see, all you hear. You hear the screams, the shouting, the sirens. You hear the doctor’s words telling you they’re really sorry. That it was his time,” said his mother Carly in an interview with The Mirror.

“And I just remember holding his hand. Both me and his dad were holding his hands, and I said to him, ‘Son, if your angel wings are there and you’re ready to take them, then take them. Mom and Dad are right here with you, and we’re with you all the way. If you’re ready to go, my son, go in peace,’” said the grieving mother, who described her son as “one of a kind, with the brightest blue eyes and the sweetest smile.”

“Literally, within minutes, he was gone. It was as if he was waiting for his dad and me to give him that permission. Those are images I will never be able to erase or forget.”

Asphyxiation

In the investigation into his death, the pathologist confirmed that Joshua’s cause of death was “consistent with balloon-related helium asphyxiation.”

Though helium itself is not toxic, pathologist Andre Rebello told the Liverpool Echo that the gas had displaced the oxygen Joshua needed to breathe.

“Inhaling helium prevented oxygen from entering his body, and without oxygen, within minutes, you stop breathing. It was an extremely tragic day, because it began as a celebration.”

Rebello called it “one of the most tragic accidents,” adding, “Anyone with a heart can imagine what he was doing. He may not have known the balloon had no air, or perhaps he was just trying to hear the helium pass over his vocal cords to change his voice. I don’t know. No one knows.”

“He was just a little boy in his room, playing—and sadly, it had deadly consequences,” Rebello said, calling the death of a child “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

Stick with air-filled balloons

Just days after her son’s tragic death, Carly took to social media, calling for a ban on helium-filled balloons.

“There’s no cure for a broken heart or the pain of losing a child. Please believe me when I say—do not buy your children helium balloons,” she wrote in a Facebook post, according to the Daily Mail.

“Since then, every single day, I hate myself for buying the balloon that took our son away from us. I would never want another child or family to go through this hell. Please, stick with air-filled balloons.”

"Hand on my heart, I would never want another child to lose their life, or another family to feel what we feel every single day.

Carly hopes that the devastating loss of Joshua will not be in vain. She is determined to turn her family’s heartbreak into a life-saving message, pleading with others to protect their children from hidden dangers she never imagined could exist.

“It’s pure torment, and it doesn’t get any easier—it really doesn’t. If one person, two people, three people stop and think, and take in what I’m saying and choose not to buy a helium balloon, that’s the life of one child that’s been saved.”

She adds,

“That’s what matters—to prevent this from happening to another child. And the only way to do that is to stop buying helium balloons. Just buy air-filled balloons—they look exactly the same.”

So next time you’re planning a party, think twice before filling the room with floating decorations.

Spread this message—and help save lives!