Australia’s broadcaster Ally Langdon was visibly emotional as she spoke with a couple who faced the unbearable choice of discontinuing life support for their daughter, who was only 13 years old.
The tragedy occurred when the young girl lost her life after falling victim to a dangerous social media trend known as chroming—a practice where individuals inhale toxic chemicals to achieve a high—which left Langdon, also a parent, fighting back tears.
On A Current Affair, host Ally Langdon heard the heart-wrenching account from Andrea and Paul Haynes about how their 13-year-old daughter, Esra Haynes, died after trying chroming by sniffing an aerosol deodorant during a sleepover.
Described by the Montrose Football Netball Club—where she served as co-captain—as “determined, fun, cheeky and talented,” Esra was an active young athlete. She raced BMX bikes with her brothers and even led her team to a national aerobics championship in Queensland.
On March 31, while at a friend’s house for a sleepover, Esra inhaled a can of aerosol deodorant in an attempt to get high, which led to her going into cardiac arrest and suffering irreversible brain damage.
“It was just her usual routine of hanging out with her friends,” her mother Andrea recalled in the interview.
Her father Paul added, “We always knew where she was and who she was with. Nothing seemed unusual… Getting that call late at night – ‘Come and get your daughter’ – is something no parent ever wishes to hear.”
Langdon explained that Esra’s friends initially assumed she was experiencing a panic attack. However, after inhaling the deodorant, her body began shutting down; she was in cardiac arrest, and none of the friends recognized the symptoms of such a critical condition.
When Andrea reached Esra, paramedics were already trying to revive her and informed her that her daughter had been chroming—a term that was completely new to her.
Despite the strong condition of Esra’s heart and lungs, which had given her family hope for recovery, she was ultimately unable to overcome the effects of the incident.
After eight days on life support, Paul and Andrea were informed that Esra’s brain had sustained irreparable damage, forcing them to decide to turn off the machine.
With heavy hearts and struggling to find the right words, the parents recounted the anguish of having to let their daughter go. When asked to invite family and friends to the hospital for their final goodbyes, Esra’s father shared, “It was incredibly hard to say farewell to such a young soul. They placed her on a bed so that we could be by her side, holding her until the very end.”
The profound sorrow of the parents moved Langdon—herself a mother of two—to tears.
Following Esra’s passing in early April, Paul described their family as utterly “broken,” with her siblings—Imogen, Seth, and Charlie—left devastated. “It was not only devastating for us but also for all her friends,” he explained. “This has been the most traumatic period any parent could endure. We haven’t been sleeping, barely eating, and have lost our smiles—we’re just not ourselves. And it’s not just affected us; the whole community feels it.”
Unaware of the phenomenon known as chroming until it claimed their daughter’s life, Paul and his wife are now determined to raise awareness about this dangerous viral trend. Chroming, which can be done with common items such as deodorant, paint, hairspray, or even permanent markers, is alarmingly popular among teens despite its potentially lethal consequences.
Speaking with a local news outlet, Paul expressed regret that he had not known about chroming while Esra was still alive. “Had we been educated about it and the word been out there, we would have undoubtedly discussed it at our kitchen table,” he said. He stressed the urgent need for direct, accurate information so that young people are informed firsthand rather than through friends or social media, ensuring they receive the proper guidance immediately.
Paul is now committed to educating parents, empowering them to have these crucial conversations with their children—and hopefully saving lives in the process. “Parents need to sit down with their children and gently open up the conversation about these dangers. We certainly didn’t know what was going on,” he noted.
Since 2009, the alarming trend of chroming has been linked to the deaths of multiple children in Australia and around the world. This practice, which can trigger seizures, heart attacks, suffocation, sudden sniffing death, coma, and organ failure, remains attractive to young people seeking a quick high.
“We will never forget the images of that day—they are permanently etched in our minds. It was absolutely heart-wrenching,” Paul told Langdon.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the Haynes family and everyone who loved Esra as they cope with the unimaginable pain of having to say goodbye.