Mom’s warning about danger in common kitchen act
A mom has issued a crucial warning that every parent of a baby needs to heed.
Last June, Ashley was in the middle of preparing dinner.
While chopping ingredients, her nine-month-old daughter sat beside her in a baby seat on the countertop.
“I would put her on my island and prepare food right next to her just so she could see me. It was really convenient and easy,” Ashley explained.
The mother-of-three’s evening routine was entirely normal — until it wasn’t.
Ashley says she went back and forth about sharing her story on TikTok, but finally decided the message was too important to sit on.
“She was not breathing at all”
While her husband was putting away the shopping, Ashley turned from her daughter for two seconds to put pasta in boiling water.
“In the span of like five seconds my daughter kicked herself back and fell in her seat onto the floor.”
The parents weren’t sure if she had taken a hit to the head, but she wasn’t crying.
Still, they wasted no time.
“I got her out and I was like she’s okay, she’s okay. I put her on my shoulder and I was patting her and as I was doing that I felt her tense up,” Ashley recounted.
Her daughter’s eyes had rolled back and she began to have grand mal seizure.
After calling emergency services, they provided the care they were instructed by the dispatcher.
“They told me that she may have broken her neck when she fell, so we needed to get her on a hard surface. I laid her on our carpet and was just trying to talk to her while she was seizing,” Ashley explained.
Things went from bad to worse after a few minutes into the seizure.
“She was not breathing at all. I then had to give her CPR until the EMTs got there. They got her breathing and they stabilized her neck, because they thought her neck was broken.”
When they arrived at the hospital the doctors suggested that the infant may be in a state of a coma.
“I really thought I would never see her awake again,” Ashley said.
However, she eventually woke up before she was rushed to a CT scan.
They sent her home after concluding she had a fracture to her skull above her left ear.
“Minus it being the worst day of our lives, she was okay,” Ashley said.
“It could have been a lot worse.”
“Never again!”
Paediatric nurse, Sarah Hunstead from CPR kids, told Kidspot there are important measures parents need to take to prevent these life altering incidents.
“Red Nose Australia stresses the importance of using baby seats, capsules and bouncinettes safely to prevent falls,” she said.
“They advise always placing them directly on the floor (a stable and flat surface) and avoiding elevated spots such as counters, tables, or shopping trolleys. Make sure your baby is never left alone when in these seats to reduce the risk of injury.”
Commenters on Ashley’s TikTok praised her for being so open.
“The bravest and most compassionate video I’ve ever seen. You’ve started a movement that will save lives,” one person praised.
“Grand Mal seizures are incredibly confronting. I’ve had to assist with two, and it’s not something I’d like to ever witness again. Thanks for being vulnerable with us, you’re a good mama, and if this video even saves one baby from the same event, then you’ve made a huge difference in the world,” another revealed.
A third added; “I had my daughter in her Upseat on the counter when I made Christmas cookies. Never again!”
Unfortunately, Ashley’s now-toddler isn’t entirely in the clear.
“Fast forward four months, she’s having seizures again. We don’t know what they’re from. I truly believe it’s from her fall,” Ashley shared.
Doctors aren’t entirely certain what is causing these medical episodes, with investigations ongoing.
However, Ashley is hoping that by sharing her experience she can bring awareness.
She has noticed an influx on her social media accounts of people following in her harrowing footsteps.
“I wanna scream from the rooftops that you cannot do that please, don’t do that. I just want people to understand that there is a huge risk in doing that,” Ashley stressed.
