We’d like to re-visit this story to remind you that accidents can strike at unexpected moments. Do stay aware at all times when your active baby or busy toddler is with you.
It was just another day playing with his three-year-old big brother at home for 18-month-old Jacob Moore, when the unthinkable happened. The toddler died after becoming wedged behind the back of their family sofa.
Reports say that the toddler is believed to have been climbing along the top of the sofa, when he slipped and fell, getting wedged between the wall and the back of the sofa.
Struggling for breath because he was trapped against the wall, the little boy suffered a cardiac arrest.
Jacob’s mother Victoria Moore was in the kitchen when her three year old son Isaac – who had been playing with his little brother – came running to find her, crying.
The toddler was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, say reports. But ten days later, he was still on a life support machine and his parents made the heartbreaking decision to switch it off.
“His brain was starved of oxygen”
Tests showed Jacob suffered a hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy where his brain was starved of oxygen.
Dr Stephen Playfor, consultant paediatric intensivist at Manchester Children’s Hospital said the youngster was already in cardiac arrest on arrival and the ambulance crew had given him five doses of adrenaline.
He said: “He was in cardiac arrest for at least 45 minutes. The outlook is usually pretty grim if they have been under cardiac arrest for that long.
“When we stopped sedation he began to breath on his own but not very regularly.
“Then we had to have one of the most difficult conversations you can have with the family about turning the machines off.
“It was only after several days of further assessment that he was not improving anymore. The machines were stopped on August 20 and he died the following day.”
Our hearts are breaking for this little boy and his family. Reports say his mother was so distressed that she couldn’t attend the inquest into his death.
Child proofing your home
Unfortunate incidents like this, as well as the incident where two children pushed their toddler sibling into the oven and turned it on, serve as grim reminders to parents of little one to make sure their homes are child-proofed in every way.
Incidents like these also remind us to think beyond the usual spots in our homes that we childproof. It’s not just enough now to keep medicines out of reach of kids or cover all plug points.
We should also be doing things like not leaving a gap between the sofa and wall and of course, advising, reminding and prohibiting our toddlers from climbing on to the back of the sofa.
Do keep your little ones safe at home, parents, and share your thoughts on this article in a comment below.