A 12-year-old Utah boy tragically lost his life after participating in a frightening activity deemed the “fainting game,” reports Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
Tua Muai was found unconscious Friday afternoon by his beloved mother who subsequently dialed 911—but it was too late—young Tua was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The fainting game, also known as the tingling game, pass out game, and perhaps most appropriately, suffocation roulette, has a goal of cutting off oxygen to the brain in order to feel a high or rush. Children play the game by applying pressure around their own neck or that of another person in order to make them briefly faint…the problem is the end result, instead of providing that momentary rush or high, can be deadly, as is the case with Tua.
“I spent Mother’s Day planning my son’s funeral, writing his obituary, instead of having breakfast or flowers or I love you mom,” the boy’s mother, Celestia Muai told Fox 13. “Try to imagine what it would be like and multiply that by infinity and that’s kind of what it’s like.. there’s no words.”
Tua isn’t the first child to have lost his life to the dangerous game, reports Faze, who cited several children as having lost their lives due to playing.
Muai is hopeful that by spreading awareness on the dangers of the game, that other lives can in turn be saved.
“There’s nothing that can take the pain away but if it can save one child, one parent, one family, then it will make more sense,” Muai told Fox 13.
The boy’s family resides in South Jordan, Utah, where they said the support they’ve received after the incident has been overwhelming. Not only has the boy’s mother lost her precious son, but her husband also passed away less than two years ago.
A YouCaring page has been established in order to help the family through the horrific ordeal of losing Tua. Funds will be used to pay for the boy’s “memorial and funeral expenses,” the fundraiser reads.
The page states says the boy’s “zeal for adventure and making others laugh will be remembered forever,” adding that “he loved football and his band of brothers were his dearest comrades.”
Donations to to the YouCaring fund can be made by clicking here.
[Feature Photo: YouCaring]
