I was doing it from my phone while I sat on the toilet next to the tub as Harley bathed. It didn't work. Obviously.
So last week a girl I work with was telling us about a friend of hers who'd been giving her two young sons a bath and left them alone in the tub. One was two, the other 16 months. The baby drowned. His older brother (6) ran down the hall to find his mom and tell her the baby wasn't breathing. She started CPR, big brother called 911 and his dad who had just left for a bike ride. The paramedics arrived and took him away. He arrived 11 minutes after the 911 call at the hospital, DOA. Moments later they flew him to PCMC. Where they revived and stabilized him. He was still unconscious. His heart was beating on its own but he wasn't breathing on his own.
I only know all these details because I saw on Facebook that a girl I went to high school with was saying that her friend's baby was so resilient. She put a link to her friend's blog and I began reading. And bawling. My baby is only a few months older than this baby. I read and read and bawled. I read about the whole thing. My heart went out to this poor mother. What guilt she must be feeling! She mentioned in one of her posts that it was the first post she'd done since this little guy was born. Kind of ironic. So I read that post. I saw the pictures of that new little baby. And his mom. And I know her! I went to high school with her too! I couldn't believe I'd read this whole story. Heard about it for a week at work. And all the while, I know her! We roomed together in San Diego on our concert choir tour.
Anyway, the point of this post is not to depress you. It's to ask for your prayers on behalf of this little baby and his family. Once again I'm amazed at the way this blogging world works. On the first post this girl did there were 20-something comments. On her latest post (not even 2 weeks later) there were 500-something comments. That's incredible to me! Anyway, please go read her story. Or at the very least, offer up a prayer for her family today.
13 comments:
This is the link to their blog. The baby is doing much better, although it looks like he'll never fully recover.
http://stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/
Wow, how scary. I saw this on someone else's blog too. I always have a spot in my prayers for blog friends.
Sorry, the link didn't hyper-link. Just copy-n-paste.
And how crazy is it that you know her, Amber?? I read about her a couple of days ago, linked over from Lara Neves' blog (Overstuffed).
It is so horrible. I have been following this for a bit - I used to work with her sister Megan. :(
So sad. There aren't many moms out there who haven't stepped away just for a second. I would have a hard time forgiving myself.
As a mom who has left her kids in the tub way too often.....thanks for posting this. I saw a link on someone else's blog but didn't follow it because I didn't have time.
So scary. And miraculous. I can't believe you know her. I will definitely say a prayer for this family.
Oh yes, the power of Prayer and the combination of a bunch of blogger friends who CARE can do wonders. I will go and read her post. Even though I know it will make me sad.
I am amazed sometimes that MY children made it to adulthood as I NEVER buckled them up in a car, and they pretty much ran free. I wasn't negligent really, I wouldn't say that, I jsut never THOUGHT to worry about such things. Sometimes I wonder why I was lucky that nothing happened.
love ya
and thanks for the visual of you on the pot trying to do a post.
I just don't get how moms can leave babies anywhere near water and walk away. I'm glad her little boy survived but 16 months? In a tub? With another child? ALONE?
I had a small dog that I would watch like a HAWK because he was trouble squared. I left him once for fifteen minutes and when I came back he had jumped over an umbrella rack and missed impaling himself by two inches.
I do not have dogs now as I cannot commit to taking care of them properly. I wish women felt the same way before they had children.
Well, Suzy, let me tell you something. My husband, our two friends, and I were all standing right next to a pool, watching our kids swim and chatting. Suddenly, we heard our 10-year old son screaming "DAD!" from RIGHT BENEATH US. And he was holding our 18-month old up out of the water. He had been right there with us one second, and the next second he was in the pool.
So, yes, water and kids are a scary combination. But having a child nearly drown doesn't mean you aren't prepared to care for your children properly, and to imply that this was the case with this poor woman is harsh.
Your logic says we probably shouldn't buy a car, either, or eat, or leave our houses for that matter. Accidents happen, even with the people we love, cherish, and TAKE CARE OF the most.
Geez.
Wendy: just want to clear something up. I wasn't USING the toilet as anything other than a seat. Hahaha
DeNae. Thanks :)
So so sad...plus this poor mother is beneath herself with sorrow and guilt probably something she will never get over. It was an accident and we all have made them! We shouldn't judge people!!
Such heartbreak! I truly hope that someday she will be able to forgive herself for being human.
How heartbreaking! I can't imagine the guilt.
I'm just glad he survived.
thanks for sharing the story with us, I'll will keep them in my prayers.
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