I've just popped in to see what
Muddled up Mumma has been up to, and whilst reading her latest post, got a yucky twist in my tummy. Moments later, the news break in the background touched on the story of the little boy who was tragically killed yesterday after his poor Mum accidentally ran in to him whilst trying to park her car. These all too common news stories bring back very bad memories for me - but also make me remember that I have had a miracle occur in my lifetime.
Wayyyy back in October 2000, whilst shacking up with my parents post marriage separation, I too accidentally ran over my eldest son. It is something I will never, ever forget, and something I still, to this day, can remember every slow motion detail of. And although I haven't shared the details to many, I thought I would today, to remind parents/family/strangers that this type of thing is way too common, and happens way too easily.
In what was a very normal day, I went outside to move my car - a little Toyota Seca hatchback. My parents lived in a unit, one of only two on the block, and my car was parked in front of the neighbour's garage. My Step-dad was outside and chatting to me at the driver's window. My son's Father had just been over to see him and left in a bit of a huff, and as it turned out, had not closed the front door completely. So as I was chatting to my Dad, i took my foot very slowly off the clutch and accelerated oh so slightly to reverse. It was then that I felt, and heard, a thud. I looked to my Dad, who looked at me and we both - horrified - realised what the thud was. My first instinct was to go forwards, but my Dad yelled to just get out of the car. We both went to the back of my car, where my little man was lying underneath crying. The horror that I felt seeing him there, still comes back to me as I'm typing this now. A million thoughts ran through my mind as my Dad pulled him out from under the car. We searched his body for obvious signs of damage, and I screamed and cried whilst my Dad tried to calm the situation down. Whilst this was all going on, my Mum emerged screaming from the house as she realised what had happened. It was dejavous for her. My Father had run over my older sister when she was three, and she suffered some pretty awful injuries. Hence, my Mother nearly fainted on the front lawn.
To make matters worse, my son's Father hadn't left in his car yet, and when he realised what had happened, was mortified and took off in his car!
It was then a case of going through the motions. We took my little sobbing boy inside and called an ambulance. We were all worried that even though he looked ok, what if his insides had been damaged? The ambulance arrived, and then the police. Because it was a car "accident", the police need to be notified, so it can be investigated. The wonderful paramedics then put little man in a neck brace, popped us both on a stretcher and wheeled us up to their vehicle. The police also followed us to the hospital.
Once at emergency, I was confronted with being breath-tested by the police! In front of everyone in the waiting room, so I looked like a rotten mother.....but I understand now why they have to do this. Hours followed, with x-rays and doctors checking him over. He was then discharged.
This was all good news, except that when I went to put him down to walk out, he could not weight-bare. So I called over a nurse and said something must be wrong. It turns out, they only x-rayed his top half, not his legs. And the only damage this little man sustained, was a broken leg.
The sheer relief I felt that day, at the fact that I still had my little man alive and well, was overwhelming. The what-if's, could-have-been's and holy craps still amaze me. And as I said earlier, each time I hear a news story of a little person being taken from this world from a similar incident, it makes me sick, and I struggle to imagine how their parents "cope".
I am so very, very careful whenever I am getting in to a vehicle. But I know I could be more vigilant. And I think that's what everyone needs to be. Cars are such huge vehicles of destruction, and the damage they can cause is terrible. So I guess, no matter how careful you think you are - double it.
