Woman, 20, died after playing ‘chemical Russian Roulette’ with nitrous oxide

A young woman who died after becoming addicted to laughing gas was effectively playing ‘chemical Russian roulette’ with the drug, a coroner has warned.

Amy Louise Leonard, 20, had been building a busy career as a makeup artist when she died last October.

Friends and family remembered her ‘bright and bubbly’ personality, calling her the ‘life of the party’.

But an inquest into her death heard Amy had come to rely on nitrous oxide to help her ‘feel happier’ while struggling with anxiety and low moods.

Bolton Coroners’ Court was told that in the weeks before she died she had been using one large cannister of gas each day.

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, can be used recreationally by inhaling the gas from balloons.

It is used lawfully in catering as well as in healthcare environments including during labour as a form of pain relief.

Taken recreationally, however, nitrous oxide is a class C drug.

The inquest heard Amy first went to hospital on September 20 last year after suffering from lower back pain for 10 days.

She was also experiencing numbness and tingling in her lower body and bladder incontinence, the court was told.

Prior to this, Amy had been using ‘one large canister of nitrous oxide every day for a period of time’, Detective Inspector Stuart Woodhead, from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) told the court.

Doctors initially suspected cauda equina – a medical emergency caused by severe compression of nerves at the bottom of the spinal cord – before diagnosing a spinal disease known as sub-acute combined degeneration of the spinal cord.

This spinal disease is a progressive neurological disorder caused by a deficiency in vitamin B12.

In Amy’s case, her ‘heavy, sustained, excessive abuse of nitrous oxide’ caused a functional deficiency of B12, the court heard.

Amy’s condition worsened within days and her mobility decreased until she collapsed 10 days later on September 30, when she suffered two sudden cardiac arrests.

Although doctors managed to restart her heart both times, she suffered significant brain damage and died on October 2.

Giving evidence at the inquest, consultant neuropathologistDr Neil Papworth told the inquest that deaths linked to nitrous oxide are ‘rare and unfortunate’.

He said: ‘Nitrous oxide abuse is thought to be quite widespread. Most people who use nitrous oxide recreationally do not suffer fatal consequences. This is a rare and unfortunate consequence.’

Concluding the hearing, Senior Coroner Timothy Brennand told the court that misusing nitrous oxide is ‘akin to playing a game of chemical Russian Roulette’.

“Drug misuse has killed and taken from a family a bright young woman,” he told the court. “She had so much to live for, she was at the heart of a functioning family.”

Amy’s death was ruled by Coroner Brennand as misadventure, meaning that it was an unintended consequence of her nitrous oxide use.

Her family is desperate to raise awareness about the dangers of abusing nitrous oxide.

Mum Katrina Proctor recently appeared on Good Morning Britain to speak about what happened to her daughter, and is working hard to prevent any other families from going through what she has.

Amy, along with her sister Caitlin, have been nominated for the Young Business Woman of the Year award, and have made it through to the final, which is set to take place in three weeks.

Paying tribute to her daughter following her death, Katrina said: ‘She was absolutely amazing at makeup, she loved it.

‘She was bubbly, she enjoyed music and was such an outgoing and bubbly person. She would make you feel welcome, she was that type of person.

‘Her favourite time of the year is Halloween and Christmas, and would absolutely love being out in the sun.’

‘It just doesn’t feel real and we’ve had so many people reaching out, we’ve had a lot of support. We are trying our best.’

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