Heartbroken mother of twins, 4, who suffocated to death after falling asleep in their cedar toy chest in the night thanks strangers for raising $35,000 and says messages of support have 'helped dull the pain'

The heartbroken mother of four-year-old twins who suffocated to death after falling asleep in their cedar toy chest in the middle of the night has said that the kind messages from strangers has helped 'dull the pain' of losing them. 

In a message posted to Facebook, Sadie Myers said: 'I want to thank EVERYONE for your kind words and for all the support and donations given... Reading all your kind messages definitely helps dull the pain.'

Myers' twins - Aurora and Kellan - were taken to bed by their father Don Starr on August 25 but decided to snuggle up in the box used to store their stuffed animals.

They ran out of oxygen and suffocated and were eventually found dead, with their arms wrapped around each other, by their older brother who assumed they were still asleep at their home in Jacksonville, Florida.

More than $35,000 has been raised for the devastated family through a fundraising page set up by Aurora and Kellan's aunt, Myers' sister, Deanna.

Sadie Myers, a Florida mother of twins, who tragically suffocated to death after falling asleep in their cedar toy chest in the middle of the night, thanked strangers for raising more than $35,000 of $10,000 goal

The twins snuggled up in the box used to store their stuffed animals on August 25. They ran out of oxygen and suffocated and were eventually found dead

More than $35,000 has been raised for the devastated family through a fundraising page set up by Aurora and Kellan's aunt Deanna

Deanna thanked people who supported the family on the GoFundMe page Friday and wrote: 'I'm trying so hard to thank every one of you individually and reply to all of your beautiful messages.'

The aunt of the twins also said she has been with the family everyday since the tragedy and the heartbroken parents have found so much comfort reading the messages from strangers. 

Myers has been posting photos of the twins since the tragedy. She also updated her profile picture to a photo of Aurora pushing Kellan sitting in a stroller. 

She also issued a warning to parents that the toy chests become 'air tight' and 'soundproof' when closed and urged others to 'destroy it immediately'.

The aunt of the twins has been with the family everyday since the tragedy and the heartbroken parents have found so much comfort reading the messages from strangers

The twins' father Don Starr took them to bed on August 25 but the kids decided to snuggle up in the box used to store their stuffed animals

One of the older boys opened the chest and found the twins, but was not aware they were dead. He said: 'Mommy! I found them! They are so silly just sleeping in the toy box.'

Myers and Starr also have two older boys, who opened the chest and found the twins in the morning of August 25. 

Myers opened up about the death of the twins on Facebook earlier this week. 

She was working on the night of the incident so her husband Don put their four children to bed.

But the twins woke up at some point early on Saturday and decided to play together using the wooden chest.

Their mother said they would get up at odd hours and would find them sleeping in various places in the morning with toys scattered across their shared room.

'Friday night, the weird place they decided to snuggle up and go back to sleep was in their cedar toy chest that we use to store all their stuffed animals,' she wrote.

The twins took out most of the stuffed animals and kept a few to provide a layer of cushioning but fell asleep with their arms draped across each other.

The mother woke up on Saturday morning and panicked when she saw the twins were not in bed and were not immediately visible.

The family raced around trying to find the twins before one of their older brothers opened the chest and saw them, he was unaware they were dead.

He said: 'Mommy! I found them! They are so silly just sleeping in the toy box.'

But Myers instantly realized they were dead. 'I went to check and within a few seconds I knew something wasn't right, but I also quickly realized it was already too late,' she said.

She assumes they wished each other goodnight before falling asleep. 'Good night, Kell Kell,' Aurora would tell her twin. While Kellan would respond: 'Night night, sissy.'

Myers said the older boys have been staying with family members

The mother issued a warning to parents that the toy chests become 'air tight' and 'soundproof' when closed and urged others to 'destroy it immediately'

The older boys have been staying with family members as the parents deal with the loss of the twins.

'They have been with family for the past week because we don't want to emotionally scar them seeing us like this, and they need to be away from all the triggers that could cause them to be in our same state,' Myers wrote.

Non-profit organization Kids in Danger has revealed that at least 34 children have died in incidents involving toy chests since 2014, according to data from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

More than 21,500 toy chests have been recalled since 2005 due to hazards including strangulation, entrapment, injury, and lead poisoning.