Post by Angel on Dec 6, 2010 22:23:04 GMT -5
AURORA, Colo. - The images on YouTube are disturbing. The consequences are deadly. But that hasn't stopped children from playing the "choking game."
"He was playing this stupid game and it cost him his life."
Rose Santana of Aurora, Colo. is talking about her 9-year-old son, Isaiah Richardson. Isaiah died from accidental strangulation. But it wasn't until after his death that Rose found out that he had learned to play the 'choking game' with an older relative.
"Talk to your kids. Know what they are doing. Tell them how much you love them all the time, because you never know when it's going to be the last time you get to say it," Rose says.
According to the "stop-the-choking-game" web site, it's a game that's been around for more than 20-years, and it's not a game at all. It's "an act of suffocating on purpose," the web site says.
"Adolescents cut off the flow of blood to the brain in exchange for a few seconds of feeling lightheaded. Kids do it to each other with their bare hands, or by themselves using a belt, rope or other device.
"When they release the pressure, blood that was blocked up floods the brain all at once, setting off a warm and fuzzy feeling, which is just the brain dying, thousands of cells at a time."
The Centers for Disease Control says "choking game" deaths often go un-reported or misdiagnosed as suicide. The CDC has been able to attribute 82 deaths to the game. A statewide survey in Oregon found one in three 8th graders had heard of the game. One in twenty had tried it.
Rose wishes she would have known her son was playing the game.
"Even if I couldn't have prevented him from doing it, maybe I could have prevented him from dying," she says.
She's encouraging parents to talk to their kids. "Tell them what could happen. It's not just a game it's their life."
Medical experts say signs of the choking game include bruising on the throat, frequent headaches and red eyes.
Rose Santana is trying to raise enough money for a headstone for her son. If you would like to help, you can donate to the "Isaiah Richardson Memorial Fund" at any TCF bank.
"He was playing this stupid game and it cost him his life."
Rose Santana of Aurora, Colo. is talking about her 9-year-old son, Isaiah Richardson. Isaiah died from accidental strangulation. But it wasn't until after his death that Rose found out that he had learned to play the 'choking game' with an older relative.
"Talk to your kids. Know what they are doing. Tell them how much you love them all the time, because you never know when it's going to be the last time you get to say it," Rose says.
According to the "stop-the-choking-game" web site, it's a game that's been around for more than 20-years, and it's not a game at all. It's "an act of suffocating on purpose," the web site says.
"Adolescents cut off the flow of blood to the brain in exchange for a few seconds of feeling lightheaded. Kids do it to each other with their bare hands, or by themselves using a belt, rope or other device.
"When they release the pressure, blood that was blocked up floods the brain all at once, setting off a warm and fuzzy feeling, which is just the brain dying, thousands of cells at a time."
The Centers for Disease Control says "choking game" deaths often go un-reported or misdiagnosed as suicide. The CDC has been able to attribute 82 deaths to the game. A statewide survey in Oregon found one in three 8th graders had heard of the game. One in twenty had tried it.
Rose wishes she would have known her son was playing the game.
"Even if I couldn't have prevented him from doing it, maybe I could have prevented him from dying," she says.
She's encouraging parents to talk to their kids. "Tell them what could happen. It's not just a game it's their life."
Medical experts say signs of the choking game include bruising on the throat, frequent headaches and red eyes.
Rose Santana is trying to raise enough money for a headstone for her son. If you would like to help, you can donate to the "Isaiah Richardson Memorial Fund" at any TCF bank.