Ally Langdon couldn’t hide her emotions during a powerful interview with grieving parents Andrea and Paul Haynes, who faced the unthinkable—saying goodbye to their 13-year-old daughter, Esra.
Esra, a vibrant teen described as determined, talented, and full of life, died after attempting a dangerous social media trend known as chroming—inhaling toxic chemicals to get high. What started as a normal sleepover with friends turned into tragedy when Esra inhaled aerosol deodorant and suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.
Langdon, herself a mother, struggled to hold back tears as Esra’s parents detailed the heartbreak of watching their daughter spend eight days on life support before they made the gut-wrenching decision to let her go. “We cuddled her until the end,” her father said, voice shaking with emotion.
The Haynes family had never even heard of chroming until it took their daughter’s life. Now, they’re determined to raise awareness and educate others—so no other family has to suffer the same pain. Esra’s siblings, heartbroken by the loss, have also joined the mission to warn peers and protect lives.
Paul Haynes urges parents to start the conversation with their children before it’s too late: “We didn’t know. If we had, we would have talked about it around the dinner table.”
Chroming has claimed multiple young lives across Australia and worldwide since 2009, and the Haynes family is now at the forefront of a growing call for awareness and education to stop this silent killer.
Speaking with Ally Langdon, Paul Haynes shared the haunting reality his family now lives with. “We’ve got images in our minds that will never go away… what we saw that night—our gut was ripped out,” he said, voice heavy with grief.
No parent should ever have to face the unimaginable decision of turning off life support for their child. Our hearts are with the Haynes family and all those mourning the loss of vibrant, young Esra. Her story is a painful but powerful reminder of the urgent need for awareness and education.
