Post by Angel on Dec 6, 2010 22:14:21 GMT -5
MUNDY TOWNSHIP, Michigan — It had been a perfectly normal August day when Maiya Bowman apparently decided to play a game.
The 13-year-old Grand Blanc West Middle School student had spent the afternoon at her grandmother's house and was looking forward to a trip to Michigan's Adventure the following weekend. She had dreams of attending Penn State on a basketball scholarship to study fashion design.
But that night, Maiya tried to make herself pass out for a rush and never came out of it, her parents said.
It was supposed to be fun, a game even.
It was deadly.
The choking game, which is known by many other names including the pass-out game, involves pressing on the chest or wrapping something around the neck to restrict blood flow to the brain.
"She was a very sweet child," said her mom, Tareylon Avery, 32, of Mundy Township. "We miss her so much."
And now she wants to issue a warning to other parents of this dangerous game she never suspected her daughter played — until it was too late.
According to a 2009 study in the Journal of Injury Prevention, 68 percent of 2,700 children between the ages of 9 and 18 had heard of the game and 45 percent knew someone who tried it. About 6 percent of the children said they tried it themselves.
"They're trying to just achieve an altered state ... it's a feeling that they get that is the result of depriving their brain of oxygen for a short time," said Dr. Thomas Andrew, the chief medical examiner in New Hampshire and who has studied the choking game for several years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control more than 82 children ages 6-19 died playing the game between 1995-2007, but deaths like these are often ruled suicides and Andrew said it is hard to get accurate statistics.
The Gensee County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to sign Maiya's death certificate, which still lists her cause of death as "pending." She died Aug. 11.
"We can speculate on whether it's accidental or intentional," said Mundy Township Police Chief James Petres. "I don't know that we'll ever know that."
Maiya's mom and step-father said they are sure the girl didn't think she could die from the choking game and that the girl didn't commit suicide. She wasn't depressed and didn't seem any different than usual before she died, said Avery.
The risks are many for kids playing this game and range from brain damage, injuries from falling and death, Andrew said. What's making it even more deadly is that kids are finding out about the game online and trying it alone, like Maiya did.
"That introduces a whole level of risk that's entirely different," he said.
Earlier in the day, Maiya and her siblings went to their grandmother's house, Maiya asked to mow the lawn when she got home and she helped fold laundry before going to bed.
"It was just a normal day, and then the next morning is when my husband went into the room and found her," Avery said.
That night, the Averys believe that Maiya sat in bed and wrapped a scarf around her neck. as her siblings Derrick Jr., 2, and Laila, 1, slept nearby.
The next morning, her step-dad, Derrick Avery, 35, came in to get the kids up. Maiya still lay in bed. Her face was peaceful, he said. At first, it looked as if she was just sleeping.
Then he realized something was wrong.
"I was screaming at the top of my lungs," he said.
Her mom rushed in. He called 911. It was too late.
Maiya had died hours before.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, what I was feeling when I found out," said Tareylon Avery.
Maiya was a leader, active in sports, school and her church. Her mother said there's no way she would have thrown that all away if she knew the risks involved.
"If she knew she could die, she wouldn't have done it," said Avery. "She loved life."
Her mom and step-dad said the weeks since her death felt like months, and her grandmother can't even look at back-to-school ads because it brings back memories of shopping with Maiya.
And her little siblings don't really grasp that Maiya is gone, Avery said. They still wait outside her bedroom door or look to see if she's riding up the driveway.
"It's such a big, empty space," she said.
www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/09/deadly_high_choking_game_lead.html
The 13-year-old Grand Blanc West Middle School student had spent the afternoon at her grandmother's house and was looking forward to a trip to Michigan's Adventure the following weekend. She had dreams of attending Penn State on a basketball scholarship to study fashion design.
But that night, Maiya tried to make herself pass out for a rush and never came out of it, her parents said.
It was supposed to be fun, a game even.
It was deadly.
The choking game, which is known by many other names including the pass-out game, involves pressing on the chest or wrapping something around the neck to restrict blood flow to the brain.
"She was a very sweet child," said her mom, Tareylon Avery, 32, of Mundy Township. "We miss her so much."
And now she wants to issue a warning to other parents of this dangerous game she never suspected her daughter played — until it was too late.
According to a 2009 study in the Journal of Injury Prevention, 68 percent of 2,700 children between the ages of 9 and 18 had heard of the game and 45 percent knew someone who tried it. About 6 percent of the children said they tried it themselves.
"They're trying to just achieve an altered state ... it's a feeling that they get that is the result of depriving their brain of oxygen for a short time," said Dr. Thomas Andrew, the chief medical examiner in New Hampshire and who has studied the choking game for several years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control more than 82 children ages 6-19 died playing the game between 1995-2007, but deaths like these are often ruled suicides and Andrew said it is hard to get accurate statistics.
The Gensee County Medical Examiner's Office has yet to sign Maiya's death certificate, which still lists her cause of death as "pending." She died Aug. 11.
"We can speculate on whether it's accidental or intentional," said Mundy Township Police Chief James Petres. "I don't know that we'll ever know that."
Maiya's mom and step-father said they are sure the girl didn't think she could die from the choking game and that the girl didn't commit suicide. She wasn't depressed and didn't seem any different than usual before she died, said Avery.
The risks are many for kids playing this game and range from brain damage, injuries from falling and death, Andrew said. What's making it even more deadly is that kids are finding out about the game online and trying it alone, like Maiya did.
"That introduces a whole level of risk that's entirely different," he said.
Earlier in the day, Maiya and her siblings went to their grandmother's house, Maiya asked to mow the lawn when she got home and she helped fold laundry before going to bed.
"It was just a normal day, and then the next morning is when my husband went into the room and found her," Avery said.
That night, the Averys believe that Maiya sat in bed and wrapped a scarf around her neck. as her siblings Derrick Jr., 2, and Laila, 1, slept nearby.
The next morning, her step-dad, Derrick Avery, 35, came in to get the kids up. Maiya still lay in bed. Her face was peaceful, he said. At first, it looked as if she was just sleeping.
Then he realized something was wrong.
"I was screaming at the top of my lungs," he said.
Her mom rushed in. He called 911. It was too late.
Maiya had died hours before.
"I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, what I was feeling when I found out," said Tareylon Avery.
Maiya was a leader, active in sports, school and her church. Her mother said there's no way she would have thrown that all away if she knew the risks involved.
"If she knew she could die, she wouldn't have done it," said Avery. "She loved life."
Her mom and step-dad said the weeks since her death felt like months, and her grandmother can't even look at back-to-school ads because it brings back memories of shopping with Maiya.
And her little siblings don't really grasp that Maiya is gone, Avery said. They still wait outside her bedroom door or look to see if she's riding up the driveway.
"It's such a big, empty space," she said.
www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/09/deadly_high_choking_game_lead.html