A 12-year-old boy residing in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, almost lost his life after taking part in a potentially lethal social media challenge known as “chroming.” Cesar Watson-King, who on August 21 collapsed at his home, had inhaled a can of deodorant as a part of the challenge. Thanks to the quick action of his mom, Nichola King, and his brother, Cesar was resuscitated and is currently recuperating at home. The incident has issued another warning against the dangerous life-threatening trend.
Dangerous Chroming Trend Sends Boy into Near-Fatal Incident
One evening in late August, Cesar Watson-King took up the chroming challenge, inhaling from a can of Aldi Lacura deodorant. In this dangerous challenge, toxic chemicals are inhaled from common products like deodorants, solvents, and aerosols to cause a short ‘high’ that can very often turn fatal. In just seconds, Cesar fell, seizing up in a seizure and entering cardiac arrest on the kitchen floor of his home.
Mother’s Heroic Efforts save the Life of Cesar
Just a few minutes after Nichola King, the mother of Cesar, had just finished feeding her youngest child upstairs, she heard a really loud thud downstairs. Cesar was seizing on the floor of the kitchen. Her panic beaded into an orderly action: she instructed her eldest son, Kaiden, to call 999 while she started CPR on Cesar, desperate to make him breathe again. “I thought he’d died. I watched my son die and saw the light go out of his eyes,” Nichola said.
Medical Interventions and Recovery
Cesar was immediately brought to the Doncaster Royal Infirmary where the doctors induced him in a coma since he continued seizing with cardiac arrests. After two days, he was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital where he began to recover. On the eighth day, Cesar was discharged from the hospital. To date, he is still experiencing short-term memory loss and drowsiness.
Warning to Parents and Kids
After the harrowing experience, Nichola King vowed to warn children against the dangers of chroming. “It’s not worth it. It might feel good, but it definitely doesn’t when you’re in the hospital struggling to breathe and causing pain to your parents,” she cautioned. Nichola also stressed that parents should be trained in first aid because that could be a determining factor in emergencies like this.
This harrowing incident surely brought to light the perils associated with social media trends such as chroming. As Cesar Watson-King proceeds on his road to recovery, his family’s experience underpins the importance of vigilance, education, and preparedness when it comes to safeguarding kids from such dangerous activities.
