THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508120048
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR
STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
Tracy Allen Williams Jr. had to clean his room before dinner, as he always did. But this night marked his father's 34th birthday, and the 6-year-old could hardly wait to taste the fried chicken that had just been delivered for the occasion.
After trudging upstairs to complete his chore, the tow-headed boy came across a stash of balloons he had saved from his own birthday 3 1/2 weeks earlier. He couldn't resist blowing one up for his dad.
They were best buddies. Young Tracy was the spitting image of his father, everyone said.
But something went hideously wrong that Aug. 3 afternoon.
Instead of inflating the balloon, Tracy somehow sucked a piece of it into his airway and started choking. He staggered into his sisters' room, where he fell down, banging his feet against the floor.
His father heard the noise and ran upstairs in time to see his son collapse. Williams yelled for his wife, Linda, to call 911.
Neither parent knew what had obstructed their son's airway. Thinking it was a piece of hard candy, they tried the Heimlich maneuver. Twice.
The 911 operator talked them through cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but to no avail. The Kempsville Rescue Squad arrived within four minutes and tried lifesaving measures for 45 minutes before taking him to Sentara Leigh Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Linda Williams, 30, still can't believe her ``ray of sunshine'' is gone. Tracy, a kindergarten student at Providence Elementary, was full of life and always happy.
Linda said she's been second-guessing herself since that awful night.
``I saw those balloons in his underwear drawer,'' Linda said Thursday, bursting into tears. ``If I had an ounce of sense I would've taken them.
``We were thinking maybe he had a heart problem we didn't know about,'' she added, wiping her tears.
No one, including physicians, knew immediately what caused Tracy's death. X-rays of Tracy's esophagus showed nothing unusual. The attending emergency room physician, James Carleo, said the whole thing looked terrible from the beginning. When Tracy stopped breathing in his room, Carleo added, the boy only had about four minutes before irreversible damage occurred.
``Very few things can cause sudden death like that,'' Carleo said. ``I jammed the tube all the way down the trachea - we never saw the piece of balloon.
``I've seen deaths from aspiration but not from a balloon,'' he said. ``It was one of those freak accidents. It's a tragedy for all involved.''
But the nightmare wasn't over for the Williamses. The Norfolk Police Department arrived at the hospital and took the couple to headquarters for questioning. They had Tracy's grandmother, Beverly Williams, pick up the other children - Crystal, 8, and Courtney, 6. Courtney is Tracy's twin.
Child abuse was suspected, Beverly Williams said angrily.
``What I want to know is, who called the police, and why that night?'' she asked. ``We're being questioned and I have no idea what happened. No one did.''
The questioning lasted until 1 a.m., said Linda Williams, and they didn't get home until after 2. She understands that the police have to do their job, but she thinks the way they went about it could be improved.
``I don't in any way begrudge the police department for investigating, but at the same time they took my daughters in at 9 p.m.,'' she said. ``With consideration to my family, they could've done the interviews in the hospital or at my house.''
No, they couldn't, said Norfolk police spokesman Larry Hill.
Whenever the cause of a child's death is undetermined, the parents and family members have to be questioned immediately, he said. By law, the hospital is mandated to call the police. Family members are never questioned together or in their own environment, Hill added.
``I know it's traumatic to the family, but even the family couldn't explain what happened,'' he said.
``Our priority is to get the facts about a death. We try to be sympathetic, but we have to get answers. Child abuse is not the first thing we suspect, but it is one we have to consider.''
After a sleepless night, the family was finally told the results of the autopsy the next morning at 9. The coroner told them that Tracy had choked on a piece of pink balloon. They were stunned. It was the last thing they would have considered, Beverly Williams said.
``If I never do anything in my life, I want to warn parents about balloons,'' she said. ``People need to know what can happen. You just don't think.''
For now, family members are trying to cope with their loss. Tracy's dad is having the hardest time, Linda Williams said. Everything reminds him of his son, the one who loved ice cream sandwiches, corn dogs and swimming. Tracy's body was cremated and the ashes placed in a container, which now sits in a water display with three brass dolphins in their house.
``He was so lovable and didn't expect anything in return,'' said Linda Williams, her blue eyes stark in their grief. ``If anyone ever lived every day as his last, it was him.
``Parents should thank God every day that they have their children,'' she added. ``You hear it all the time - you never thought it would happen to you. Well, guess again.'' ILLUSTRATION: ``He was so lovable''
[Color Photo]
MORT FRYMAN/Staff
Tracy Williams' aunt, Sandy Walton; the boy's mother, Linda
Williams; and his grandmother, Beverly Williams, say the loss of the
tow-headed 6-year-old, below right, is wrenching. ``Parents should
thank God every day that they have their children,'' Linda Williams
said.
by CNB