Chernice Thompson is mum to two boys Noah (nearly 3) and Chester (7 weeks). She tells Mother&Baby the danger of leaving your car seat on an unsteady surface and how it has had heartbreaking consequences for the family...
On Thursday 3rd October, I was getting myself, Noah, Chester and our dog ready to go out for a walk.
Chester screams blue murder when you strap him into his car seat so I put him in his seat on the sofa with the intention of strapping him in just as we left. My nearly 3-year-old was playing with his toys on the sofa. I went in the kitchen to put the dog's harness on and next minute I hear a bang and an almighty scream from Chester.
I ran into the lounge to find Chester had fallen onto our hardwood floor. I am not 100% sure what happened but I believe that Noah accidentally leaned on his car seat which tipped him out. I picked Chester up and rocked him with him settling within 30 seconds. Due to him only being 7 weeks, I rushed him straight to A&E where he had an X-ray.
The first doctor who examined him thought he just a bump as all his stats were normal and told us once she’d checked the X-ray, we could go home. She shortly came in and told us that Chester, unfortunately, had 2 skull fractures.
He was sent for a CT scan which confirmed this and also showed a few pockets of blood on his brain.
I am absolutely heartbroken, devastated for what this could mean for his future. I completely hated myself for being so stupid and kept playing it over and over. He was kept in hospital for 3 days under continuous monitoring and then was allowed home where he has since had an MRI as an outpatient. He is due to see the neurologists in November to check the fractures in his skull are healing as due to how young he is and how rapid their head grows, there is a small chance his fractures can grow instead of heal. He’ll then be seen every 3 months until he’s at least one.
They’re confident there will be no long-lasting effects but cannot guarantee it and want to ensure he’s meeting his developmental milestones. As a mum, I will forevermore live with this guilt. It keeps me awake at night and I’m having horrendous flashbacks that wake me up.
I am so grateful to have my boys and we are hopeful that he’ll be ok. Since posting our story on my Instagram, I have had an overwhelming amount of mums say that they haven’t even thought twice about doing similar. I’m trying to use this horrendous accident as an opportunity to raise awareness.
Please never leave your baby in their car seat anywhere other than on the ground. Although we were very unlucky for Chester’s injuries to be so serious, things could have been a lot worse.
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