An eight-year-old girl in Portland, Ore., is dead after she suffocated on a large Mylar balloon.
Jaina Vue McGloghlon was found by her father Feb. 24 with one of the large balloons over her head, her mother wrote in her obituary. He did CPR before the paramedics took over, but she couldn't be revived.
According to the medical examiner's office, Jaina was trying to make her younger brother laugh by placing the balloon over her head, but she was inhaling helium and couldn't get in enough oxygen, causing her to lose consciousness.
The balloons were from her dad's birthday party, her mother wrote, and Jaina, who wanted to plan the party, had asked for two of the large ones to be left in her room.
"She wanted Star Wars balloons and lots of balloons for her daddy," her mother wrote.
"She will always be remembered by those that knew her to be a fun, loving, happy child. We love you, love you, love you, love you."
Her grandmother Pat McGloghlon told KATU that the balloon was about three-and-a-half feet tall, with different size fill holes.
"And the only thing we could think is that she opened it, to suck the helium out and put it over her head and she suffocated,” she said.
She hopes that other families can avoid this sort of tragic situation.
“Right now it’s just too raw with everybody. What can you say? We all want to turn back yesterday and start over again," she said.
Jaina's death has been ruled an accident.
According to pediatrician Alan Greene, balloons cause more deaths in children than any other toy.
He writes that Mylar balloons are safer than latex, but warns parents not to let their children play with them unsupervised.
Jaina's uncle Donny McGloghlon, who set up a crowdfunding page for the family, told Inside Edition his niece loved to make people laugh.
"I’m sure she’s seen people make crazy helium voices before, (that’s why) she would do something like that. That’s what she was all about — entertaining people."
Jaina and her little brother Jacen were named for characters in the Star Wars expanded universe, according to a Facebook page that is petitioning for the creators to name a character in the new series after her.
"She would be so thrilled to be a character in Star Wars I can just see her face beaming with pride."
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