Tiffany A Rivera from Florida explained how, when her son fell off his bike, at first his injuries appeared to be of no concern.
Jaden (then 10-years-old), who wasn’t wearing a helmet, had scraped his knee and elbow – something that happens to all children from time to time.
And like most kids, he soon forgot about the grazes and continued to smile, laugh and play.
But what happened next was a different – and terrifying - story completely.
Taking to Facebook, Tiffany explained that two days after the fall, this happened:
“Jaden woke up complaining of a headache and seemed very lethargic, which was not his normal self at all. All Jaden wanted to do was lay down and didn't want to eat anything.
"After looking at Jaden you could see swelling around his right temple. The spot on his temple was not hard, more like really squishy."
The worried mum naturally rushed her son into hospital, saying he began to vomit the moment her entered the car.
“Once Jaden arrived at Saint Mary's Children's hospital a CT scan was done. The diagnosis was right temporal fracture of the skull and right temporal epidural hematoma.
"The doctors explained to me that my son need emergency surgery within the hour to try and save his life. The chances of him making it were a 50/50 chance.”
“Jaden underwent surgery and once they were in found the damage to be extensive… The surgery was only supposed to take 1 1/2 hours, Jaden was in surgery for 2 1/2 hours.
She added frighteningly: "We were told by the surgeon and other doctors that it was a miracle he survived. All other cases the kids never came out of surgery.”
We cannot imagine how his poor parents were feeling at the moment – and how terrified the Jaden must have been.
Luckily – in every sense of the word – the young, vibrant boy managed to survive the entire ordeal with no permanent damage.
Tiffany confirmed: “On April 5th 2016 Jaden turned 11 with almost no permanent damage or disability. My family and I would like to thank the Trauma Surgical Team and PICU at Saint Mary's Children's hospital in West Palm Beach Florida.”
The obviously traumatised mum explained she had made this open statement in a bid to warn other parents of the dangers of letting their kids go helmet free.
Encouraging everyone to share her post, she wrote: “I am telling you this in hopes to raise awareness for all children and adults why you need to wear a helmet.
"Help others be aware of the dangers of riding without the proper safety equipment. This can happen to anyone! The injuries my son had were equal to those in a motorcycle accident!”
Read the full post here:
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