‘I Almost Lost My Child’: Mother Warns Parents After Son Chokes on Balloon at Birthday Party

On 22 May, Facebook user Nurul Huda Zulkhairi shared how a birthday party two days prior had become a life-threatening emergency for her son, Uwais.

During the celebration — attended by his close friends and teachers — Uwais had been playing catch with a friend.

At one point, he began joking around by putting a deflated balloon in his mouth while running. The balloon became lodged in his throat.

Nurul’s sister-in-law noticed that Uwais was wheezing and quickly alerted the boy’s father to his breathing difficulties.

Father’s CPR Training and Quick Hospital Response Save Child’s Life

The family initially thought Uwais was experiencing an asthma attack. He had suffered from such episodes before, so his father went to retrieve his inhaler.

Moments later, Nurul’s brother-in-law came rushing over with Uwais in his arms. The boy’s face had turned blue, and his heart had stopped beating.

Uwais’s father and a friend immediately began performing CPR, believing he had choked on food. However, no food emerged during the resuscitation.

The father continued CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while rushing Uwais to the hospital.

Doctors took over upon arrival. As they prepared to intubate him, they discovered a deflated balloon lodged in his throat.

Medical staff swiftly removed the balloon and continued CPR in an effort to revive him.

Mother Issues Balloon Safety Warning After Son’s Near-Fatal Choking Incident

Nurul shared the story as a cautionary tale for other parents, accompanying her post with photos of the deflated balloon.

“Small things that we take for granted like a balloon, can cause big disasters if left unattended,” Nurul wrote.

“Don’t take it lightly, because I almost lost my child myself,” she added.

“Because of one balloon, I almost lost my child,” Nurul wrote. “I share this story as a reminder to all parents: small things we take lightly, like a single balloon, can lead to tragedy if not properly supervised.”