A Wisconsin baby died in a horrific accident after a balloon animal popped and lodged in his esophagus at a Halloween party, according to a report.
Devastated mother Kisha Avita-Wilson told NBC Chicago that her son, Don’Vayaire Avita-Mays — affectionately known as “Baby Don” by family — died on Oct. 24, just two days before his first birthday at the party.
“We were keeping the balloons away from Baby Don, and one of the balloons came undone,” Avita-Wilson told the outlet.
“He grabbed it, and he bit it, and when he bit it, it shot the tied-up part into the bottom of his esophagus,” she recounted.
“I grabbed him immediately out of his car seat. I performed CPR … I stuck my fingers down his throat,” Avita-Wilson continued.
“The person that I was with tried to do the same things also, and he turned blue immediately and went into cardiac arrest.”
First responders rushed to remove the rubber piece from the 11-month-old’s throat with a tube and pliers, but their efforts were tragically in vain.
“It was nothing that we could have done to save my baby boy,” Avita-Wilson said.
“I don’t like to talk about him in past tense, but he isn’t here with us any longer.”
Avita-Wilson, who is currently seven months pregnant, has experienced contractions and premature dilation due to the severe stress of her grief, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the family’s funeral expenses.
“He was a handsome little boy whose laugh was infectious, whose smile could light up any room, and who was loved by so many,” Avita-Wilson’s aunt, Mary Lott, wrote in the GoFundMe description.
“We ask that everyone continues to pray for Kisha, her girls and especially her unborn child,” Lott continued.
Avita-Wilson is calling for greater marketing restrictions on balloon products.
“Balloons have warnings on them, but that is not enough,” she told NBC.
“They should stop selling them. Stop marketing them to kids. Stop producing them.”
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