This year has been one of loss for our family. This post is about preventing loss, but first I want to tell you why I'm so motivated to write it.
In June, my niece Destany went from a happy vibrant little girl, to diagnosed with DIPG, to gone into the arms of Jesus in a matter of 4 days. She was 6 years old.
In July, my brother in law Tony entered the hospital with acute liver failure. Two days later he joined Destany in Heaven.
On Friday, December 14th 2012, my friend from high school, Jo Jo, sent her daughter Charlotte to school at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. By 9:40 a.m. Charlotte, 19 of her classmates and six school staff had all ascended to heaven.
So why am I writing this post? What is the purpose? My purposes is to simply state I don't think I can handle another loss close to us. My friends, none of those pictured who were lost this year had any warning. They were just gone. There was nothing their loved ones could have done to prevent loosing them.
But how many people, children in particular, are lost every year in preventable accidents?
I want to focus on one way you can prevent the death of children. Securing furniture to walls. Something so easy and inexpensive, yet did you know that in the US in 2011, 41 people, most of them children under age 9, were killed by furniture tipping over on top of them?
I want you to read one mother's account. In 2004 Kimberly Packard lost her 3 year old daughter Meghan when a SMALL dresser tipped over on top of her. Kimberly is asking for people to spread awareness so other families don't have to suffer the same loss and anguish she and her family have suffered. $15 and 15 minutes is all it would have taken and Kimberly would still have her daughter. Meghan's twin would still have his best buddy.
Laurie Rahn nearly lost her 3 year old daughter Brooke when she reached for a barbie doll that was on top of a dresser. She suffered a massive head injury.
Dana writes about her 3 year old son, "Tiggy", what happened when a dresser fell on top of him in 2010.
As I read these accounts I pictured each room in our house. Do we have furniture that has the potential to tip? I can think of one piece in particular which I have wanted to burn for months. What about your house? Maybe your children are old enough to "know better", but do you ever have small children visit? Even pieces as low as 30 inches can kill a child.
Please go read the posts linked above. Please look around your house. Think about who lives with you or who visits. Make the changes. Secure the furniture to the walls, and prevent a oriole tragedy in your house.
In June, my niece Destany went from a happy vibrant little girl, to diagnosed with DIPG, to gone into the arms of Jesus in a matter of 4 days. She was 6 years old.
In July, my brother in law Tony entered the hospital with acute liver failure. Two days later he joined Destany in Heaven.
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| Tony with his daughter, my niece Tianna, at her wedding in 2011. |
On a Saturday morning in October, my cousin Kim wasn't feeling well and lay down on the couch to rest. She joined Destany, Tony, and many others waiting for her in heaven. She was 43 years old.
On Friday, December 14th 2012, my friend from high school, Jo Jo, sent her daughter Charlotte to school at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT. By 9:40 a.m. Charlotte, 19 of her classmates and six school staff had all ascended to heaven.
So why am I writing this post? What is the purpose? My purposes is to simply state I don't think I can handle another loss close to us. My friends, none of those pictured who were lost this year had any warning. They were just gone. There was nothing their loved ones could have done to prevent loosing them.
But how many people, children in particular, are lost every year in preventable accidents?
I want to focus on one way you can prevent the death of children. Securing furniture to walls. Something so easy and inexpensive, yet did you know that in the US in 2011, 41 people, most of them children under age 9, were killed by furniture tipping over on top of them?
I want you to read one mother's account. In 2004 Kimberly Packard lost her 3 year old daughter Meghan when a SMALL dresser tipped over on top of her. Kimberly is asking for people to spread awareness so other families don't have to suffer the same loss and anguish she and her family have suffered. $15 and 15 minutes is all it would have taken and Kimberly would still have her daughter. Meghan's twin would still have his best buddy.
Laurie Rahn nearly lost her 3 year old daughter Brooke when she reached for a barbie doll that was on top of a dresser. She suffered a massive head injury.
Dana writes about her 3 year old son, "Tiggy", what happened when a dresser fell on top of him in 2010.
As I read these accounts I pictured each room in our house. Do we have furniture that has the potential to tip? I can think of one piece in particular which I have wanted to burn for months. What about your house? Maybe your children are old enough to "know better", but do you ever have small children visit? Even pieces as low as 30 inches can kill a child.
Please go read the posts linked above. Please look around your house. Think about who lives with you or who visits. Make the changes. Secure the furniture to the walls, and prevent a oriole tragedy in your house.
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