Cloverdale, OREGON - Kyle Dionne
10 years old, died August 21, 2004 as a result of the choking game. He loved life, his little brother and enjoyed
nature. Learned the choking game at school where he played it with another student - nobody felt it necessary
to mention this to me until the day after Kyle's death.
~Kyle's Mom
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Alesa's Mother tells her Life After Story -
"Alesa learned about the Choking Game from some friends, but never had the nerve to try it with them.
We had spent the last week of her life very busy with Homecoming activities and we were all exhausted. I
believe that she was not sleepy due to sleeping in Saturday morning and had some idle time to think
about trying "the game". The rest of the family was sleeping and never heard a sound. I believe she tied
the belt around her neck and passed out quicker than she anticipated. She would not have tried it if she
had known the dangers. She was very vocal about not drinking, smoking, or experimenting with drugs.
She would not participate, nor would she associate with other teens that did. I went into her room to wake
her for church. I found her with the belt around her neck. If I had been educated, I would have talked to
my children. I am confident that Alesa would still be here today. Please help us educate children and
their families so that no other family has to experience the loss of a child."
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Seizures After Playing the Choking Game
I played the choking game when I was about 14 or 15, only then the game didn't have a name. I am now
26. I used to play with a group of friends, we would each take turns fainting We probably only played
the game for a week, but each night (and not even every night) we would have at least 3 or 4 turns. I
don't even remember why we played or even how we learnt how to play, all I remember was it was a
cool feeling, it was fun. When I was 19, I dropped down in a grand mal seizure, my father thought I
was going to die, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I was convulsing uncontrollably. I was
diagnosed with epilepsy, and because of the game I played when I was a kid, I now have to be on
medication for the rest of my life. The medication has unwanted side effects, like skin breakouts,
weight gain and terrible short term memory, and there is nothing I can do about it. There are also
things that I would love to do in my life that I will now never be able to do because of the epilepsy,
like scuba diving, or sky diving, even simple everyday things I need to worry about, like driving my car,
if I have a seizure while driving, I can not only kill myself and my passengers, but a lot of innocent
people on the road as well. All because of a couple of nights of 'fun'.
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Michael's Family's Loss
There are no words that can describe life after the Game. After the death of our big beautiful son life as we knew it was gone
forever. We are left with only memories that instead of comforting us, haunt my family with sadness and despair. Our boy was full
of life. He had goals and aspirations that became ours, and now we are left with nothing. Its been 112 days without hearing our
sons laughter or seeing his beautiful face. Its extremely difficult to explain the kind of emotions that our family is having to over
come. Life before the death of our son was filled with family activities. Michael was the core of our family, he was involved in
community activities he was well liked by all who knew him and brought happiness to all he touched. He loved baseball he was
an all star player for many years. He loved going deep sea fishing, bay fishing, and surf fishing. He enjoyed camping out at the
beach, and especially playing paintball wars on the weekends with the family.
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Max passed out and lost his eye
Max is 15 years old, star athlete, hockey, football, wrestling he had just received his driving permit and was/is leaning towards
aviation as a career path, he gave consent for another child to choke him in the middle of a classroom with staff 3 feet away, he
passed out, hit his head on a desk and lost his left eye. This happened 5 days ago. I now realize that this "game" could have had
a far more sever outcome.
I have found some comfort in foundations such as yours and I would like to applaud you for your effort. I am a Teacher and
therefore I have a forum to get information out, at least in my community.
~ J.S
Submitted : Saturday, May 05, 2007
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Stephanie lost a portion of her memory for years after the Choking Game
I was 13 years old at a friend\'s house next door. There were about 5 kids there and we were all choking
ourselves. Our ages ranged from 10-14. One person would squat down, take a few deep breaths, squeeze
their neck and stand up. It would only take a several seconds for the person to pass out. Someone would
stand behind them and catch them or we would stand in front of a bed so we would fall back on the bed. We
had only done this for one or two days. The last time that I did it, I fell back and no one was there to catch me. I
went from stand straight up and fell straight back (legs straight, my knees didn't bend... I didn't crumple down to
the floor). I hit my head on the floor which had a thin pad and one layer of carpet covering the cement
foundation. When I stood up and tried to shake it off, I found that I was confused and couldn't remember some
things. I couldn\'t remember earlier in the day or the weeks that had passed, but I could remember people's
names and family\'s phone #s. We called my grandmother and aunt and they came and took me to the
hospital. The doctors found that I had a concussion. I lost several months of memories. And I couldn\'t store
any new info as it was happening. That night in the hospital, I kept waking up and asking "Where am I???
What time is it???" My mom was scared to death because she didn\'t know if I would ever get my memory back
or be able to store info. Finally, one time when I asked where i was and what time it was, she screamed,
"Stephanie, you tell ME!! You just asked the same questions 5 minutes ago!! You tell me!!\" And for some
reason I snapped out of it. I had to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days for observation.
Over the next 5-7 years or so, memories from the time period came back. It was random and out of the blue.
From my perspective, the scariest thing about this game is that it feels so good. You are unconscious for
maybe 20 seconds, but it seems like you are in this dream world for hours. You get all tingly and there is an
amazing feeling that accompanies it. The feeling was so amazing and like nothing that I had ever experienced.
I can see how this game could be addictive
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Dad's Goodbye Letter to Josh
I miss you Josh,
You left on July 10, 2000 at the age of 15 and ½. Seeking that drug free high, asphyxiation by ligature (hanging
w/ feet on the floor), ruled accidental by the coroner, leaving all that loved you forever numbed. It is hard to tell
others that did not know you, that it was not a suicide. A hanging is perceived different from a car wreck or a
plane crash. It is just not the same as if you had passed by any other unforeseen, unstoppable, tragic,
accidental death. But I also want you to know that I really don’t care what others think, I know who you were son.
I know you just made one of those teenage mistakes that you could not recover from. I know this is not what you
wanted to occur.
I remember watching you through the years, the little boy, the pre-teen, the teenager, and then yes, the young
man. I was so proud of you the handsome young man, full of energy, laughter, caring, love, and promise.
Over the years we had our clouds, the divorce of your mother and I had jolted your adolescence. There was a
moodiness that I hoped you would someday outgrow. I felt as though you had weathered the storm well and had
become adjusted to the multi-family lifestyle. You once told me it was cool to have so many more parents and
grandparents than some others you knew.
Also over those years I tried to remember some of my teenage storms. I could deeply empathize with you. We
didn’t talk a great deal about our feelings. We just shared the pain silently. The bonds were in the good times
and the bad, but the communication was often unspoken. Now those bonds and that promise are gone. I am lost
and still trying to deal with the reality of living without you.
I imagine you are around at home, in the car, at my work. I see you in the bathroom brushing your teeth. I talk to
you all the time about what’s on my mind. I visit with you and ask you to join me but in the end I move on without
you. I feel a constant guilt and horror as I recollect the day you passed. I pray to God for a different result
always knowing that this prayer will never be answered. There is sometimes a physical pain in my chest; my
heart is still filled with so much love for you. But now it is filled with so much sadness also at times it feels as
though it will burst.
Where do I start to tell you what you mean to me? Maybe it should be with the best times. There were all your
stuffed animals, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nintendo video games, chess, throwing a baseball, the pool,
climbing trees, go-carts, raising pigs and cows, a Shetland pony, and all the puppies we always had around.
There were the times I coached you in tee-ball, baseball, and football. I loved watching your skills increase so
fast. There was a competitive fire in you that made you a fierce competitor and at times a sore loser. I went from
letting you win to trying so hard to beat you. It was nice that you were an only child and we could be together so
often. Fishing was always so much fun. You were a very enthusiastic and inpatient fisherman, traits you would
have to learn to control to become good at fishing. You loved salt-water fishing and I remember when you loved
shark so much that you would not eat any fish unless I told you it was shark.
Some other foods that you had a strong fancy for were fried shrimp, fried rice, and red beans and rice. Against
your mother’s taste and wishes you even developed a passion for the seasonings of black pepper and onions
that I have always loved. I never had to worry about a campfire; you were the ultimate firebug. You could gather
wood, build the fire, and maintain it for days in a place others could not. You loved nature and all its beauty,
when you would slow down enough to notice. I remember Halloween was fun time for you. I would carry you and
your loaded bag when you were young. When you were older you wanted a second Halloween, a costume party
for your birthday just a few weeks after Halloween. We had a haunted house that was better than anything ever
done before. If I could find all your little buddies who were about 7 or 8 at that time, I am sure they all remember
that haunted house to this day.
For 15 years I watched you grow from strollers to bicycles, skateboards to cars, Pee-Wee Herman to Eminem,
birthday parties to bonfires, and from frogs to girlfriends. You were finding your way through life with new
expressions such as your clothes, music, and art. I could relate to all of them, there was a lot of me in you. You
were my son and it was endlessly fascinating to see the ways you were and were not like me. I wanted most for
you to be happy in life doing something you loved. You had great goals to play professional baseball or to fly
military jet fighters. Although the odds were very slim we never stopped you from having aspirations at such
lofty goals. I tried to give you experiences, tools, knowledge, and skills. I tried to introduce you to as many things
as I could that would give you the best chance to live your life feeling good about yourself and others around
you.
Sadly, you will never use those tools and skills. We will not play another game together, share any more
experiences, or talk about the times we have had. I can’t reconcile the past we had with the future we won’t.
There is only the present now and there are only memories. In spite of everything I did or tried to do for you, I
may have not done the one thing that would have kept you here. But I am sure of this. I will always love you son,
and I will always remember everything about you as long as I live. Then I will see you again when I am done.
Love Dad
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Dylan's Story
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