It's time to head out to the mall. You strap your little one safely in the car seat. You are sitting right next to him on the back seat as your spouse drives. But as you proceed, your baby starts wailing. So you unbuckle your baby from the car seat and cradle him on your lap. He immediately stops crying. Have you done this, parents? If you have, please take note of this mum's scary experience of a car accident involving child who was taken out of the car seat.
Car Accident Involving Child Taken Out Of Car Seat Teaches Grim Lesson
On 14 October 2013, a baby named 轩轩 (Xuan Xuan) had a close shave with death. He was just two months and three days old then.
The baby's mother, Kelly Lim, rarely mentions the distressing incident and was only able to revisit the memory recently. And now she wants all parents to learn from her mistake.
Kelly's family were heading out in their car. Kelly was sitting in the passenger seat while her husband drove. Her mother was at the back with the baby on the car seat.
But because Xuan Xuan kicked up a fuss, he was removed from the car seat and carried instead. The journey was smooth until they were just three minutes away from their home.
Another car that was moving at a fast speed unexpectedly crashed into them. It was apparently tailing closely behind them.
The impact was strong and caused Kelly's car to spin out of control. When it did stop, it got stuck next to a large ditch.
What happened next?
"The baby was cradled so he should be fine," thought Kelly's mother at that point.
Both the baby's father and grandmother climbed out through the window as the car door could not be opened. But when it Kelly glanced at her baby boy she knew something was wrong: his head was swelling up before her very eyes.
She started to cry and shout hysterically. The driver involved in the accident brought them to the nearest hospital. After first aid treatment at the government clinic, Xuan Xuan was sent to the Taiping government hospital.
They waited at the hospital from noon to 11pm as there was a lack of beds in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) in the Ipoh hospital, where they were waiting to be transferred to.
Many times, the tiny newborn slipped in and out of consciousness, and each time, his mother lost hope.
"小小身躯躺在病床，多人围着，我什么不能做。。。。" (The small and frail body is lying in bed, and many people are surrounded, but yet I can't do anything....), she writes in her Facebook post.
"Massive bleeding in the brain"
Due to the strong impact on the newborn's head, he suffered an injury that led to massive bleeding in the brain.
The doctors used morphine to reduce the pain while they waited for the bleeding to stop. However, the bleeding did not stop.
A CT scan — 100 times the amount of radiation of an X-ray — was done to confirm if there were any changes in Xuan Xuan's brain.
"一个2个月大的宝宝要承受酱多次的辐射" (Just imagine a mere 2-month-old baby having to endure such amounts of radiation), shared his devastated mother. To see her tiny baby with a breathing tube sticking out of him broke her heart.
A Long And Painful Road To Recovery
Xuan Xuan stayed in the PICU for 10 days and had a tube inserted at the back of his brain on the 11th day. This was to let the congested blood flow out to reduce the pressure on the brain.
But gradually, the little fighter recovered. First the tube was taken out; next, his stitches came out.
Xuan Xuan was finally discharged on the 14th day.
There are, however, after effects from the cerebral hypoxia caused by this incident on the little one, and has to remain on medication.
"复健是条漫长的路，对孩子是，对家人更是," added Kelly, in her post. (Rehabilitation is a long and painful road, to kids, but even more so for the family)
Staying Hopeful Amidst Setbacks
Kelly has an important message for all parents. She wants to advise all mums and dads to use the car seat for their child and to take it very seriously.
"如果您还没使用Car Seat，请重视~您的孩子是您的宝，怎能不好好保护呢?"
(If you're not using the car seat, please value it. Your child is your treasure, so how can we not protect them well?"
The full post by Kelly can be seen here:
Car Accident Involving Child: Safety Tips
Mums and dads, just because you have a child safety seat installed in your car does not mean that the job is done.
If it is installed incorrectly, you will face a problem as well.
According to SafeKids, you can reduce the risk of child death by as much as 71 percent by using child safety seats correctly.
Here are some useful tips:
- Choose a car seat based on your child’s age, weight and size (try it in the store before taking it home)
- Place your child in the seat and adjust the buckles and straps to fit them snugly
- Make sure that the seat is attached to the car securely
- Follow the instructions in your car owner’s manual to properly install your child’s car seat
- Always check your car safety seat instructions to find the weight and height limits for the various types of seats
- Keep him in the seat until he has reached the manufacturer’s height or weight limit
- ALWAYS wear your own seat belt as a good role model
- Never allow anyone to share car seats or seat belts.
- The safest place for children under the age of 13 is in the back seat
Source: Kelly Lim Kai Li's Facebook, Healthline, SafeKids, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)