It was a timely reminder of our family's story. My oldest son's story, really.
My prayer is that in repeating my annual essay, eight years later, others will be spared from experiencing the same pain.
Many of these words were written in 2007 when I was sitting at my son's bedside in a hospital room at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston. This piece has been edited through the years, published in The Northeast Georgian and on the websites for the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Never
underestimate the power of a lawn mower
Sunday
morning Aug. 12, 2007 dawned hot and still. A delayed start to Sunday School
had my husband and 13-year-old son catching up on yard work. Bill was on the
riding machine in the front yard and our oldest son Joseph was operating the
push mower in the back. I was peacefully re-organizing my kitchen cabinets when
the morning quiet shattered with my son’s screams of agony.
The drone
of the riding lawn mower hit me in the face as I burst out the door heading to
my son’s side.
Waving and screaming at my husband, I whirled around the side of
house. I took in the scene in a split second. Joseph was lurching across the
yard on one leg; his right foot was mangled and bloody.
Bill and I
managed to get our big boy down to the ground and we quickly went into
emergency mode. We shouted at Joseph's younger brother and sister who were standing on the
deck overlooking the horrific scene: "Call 911!"
Everything
you’ve heard in first aid classes flashes through your mind. We knew sometimes digits can be reattached. I clutched my son’s hands and tried to
get him to pray as he writhed in agony. My husband dumped out the grass
catcher searching for the missing pieces of our son’s foot.
Once the
EMT’s arrived, there was immediate talk of helicopter transport; this is
protocol for amputations. That was when I first realized this was not just a
quick visit to the emergency room for stitches.
An unexpected
journey began that day and this essay brings a message of caution to other
families with tall grass.
June is National Safety Month and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons issues an annual statement that needs to be shouted, repeated and taken to heart. “247,000 people were treated for lawn mower-related injuries last year, more than 18,000 of them children under age 19. Lawn mower-related injuries have increased 7 percent since 2008.” [2010 statistics]
June is National Safety Month and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons issues an annual statement that needs to be shouted, repeated and taken to heart. “247,000 people were treated for lawn mower-related injuries last year, more than 18,000 of them children under age 19. Lawn mower-related injuries have increased 7 percent since 2008.” [2010 statistics]
When we arrived at the hospital we learned lawn mower injuries are considered “dirty wounds.” Infections often result when
lawn mower blades rip open a foot, hand or other body part. This is just the
first hurdle an accident victim faces.
The
doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Egleston told us to expect multiple surgeries
on our son’s right foot. All of the flesh of his big toe was gone and there was
additional tissue and bone loss. It was undetermined at that time whether skin
and tissue grafts would be necessary. They told us to expect several months in
the hospital. He would undergo full anesthesia every other day until the wound
was satisfactorily closed and infection free.
He was
left with part of the bone in his toe intact. If the bone “survived,” it would
help him to balance after his accident. If the bone died, we were told he would
never walk normally again.
The bone
died. I’ll never forget the surgeon demonstrating the limp my son would be left
with. However, there was good news along with the bad; getting the bone out of
the way allowed more room to close the wound and skin and tissue grafts proved
unnecessary. He went home after only six surgeries and two weeks and one day in
the hospital.
Joseph was lucky.
Joseph was lucky.
He returned
to school two weeks behind but full of determination not to be seen
differently. He refused a lot of help and propelled himself to class on
crutches. He quickly dropped the crutches and proceeded to walk with his foot
protected in a boot-type cast.
It wasn’t
long before you couldn’t tell that he was any different when he was walking in
a regular shoe. We call him our “Myth Buster.” Apparently you don’t need your
big toe to balance. He returned to sports and played football for the HCHS Raiders. Again, he was lucky.
We met other
families during our unplanned Atlanta vacation who were not so lucky. A toddler
in the room next door lost her left foot and right leg up to the knee after
being run over by a riding lawn mower. A teenager was there for an extended
period of time as a result of a mower accident and was healing well. However,
she was having trouble kicking an addiction to the pain killer morphine; a
necessary evil with injuries of this type.
Dr.
Stephanie Martin managed Joseph’s care and said these types of injuries are all
too common. “I hate summer,” she said, referring to the time of year when cases
of lawn mower and boat propeller accidents increase. She said many people don’t
realize how devastating and complicated these types of injuries can be.
Joseph
wanted his story told. Read the guidelines provided by the AAOS and let’s hope
next year’s statistics aren’t as high.
AAOS Guidelines – 2015
- Only use a mower that has protection over hot and sharp parts.
- Riding mowers should have the reverse switch behind the driver, forcing the driver to look behind when placing the machine in reverse.
- Push mowers should have a control that stops forward motion when the handle is released.
- If children must be in the yard during mowing, they should remain at least 20 feet away from the running lawn mower at all times. Ideally, children should not be allowed outside in the yard when the grass is being cut.
- Children should be at least age 12 years before operating a push lawn mower, and age 16 to operate a riding lawn mower.
- Children should never be passengers on ride-on mowers.
- Always wear sturdy shoes while mowing the lawn - do not wear sandals.
- Remove stones, toys, and debris from the lawn before mowing to prevent injuries from flying objects.
- Always wear eye and hearing protection.
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