Please... please make sure you buckle your kids in right.. TRIGGER warning I can’t stop crying ... a friend of mine posted this on FB😢😢😢

I don't post on Facebook often other than photos, but it's eating away at me and I feel the need to share for awareness purposes.

Yesterday was a day I will never forget. Although I have been out of the EMS field for a few years, I have needed the skills I gained from attending to those who have suffered trauma. For some reason God keeps placing me in situations that I don't want to be in, but I don't think...I just act.

I cannot stress enough the importance of a proper car seat for a child. If you don't know, look it up. Call your local police or hospital to set it up correctly. Make sure the straps are the correct tightness and shoulder level. If the child isn't tall/heavy enough for a booster, then they stay in the 3/5 point harness. The importance of a car seat for your children is more than just keeping them safe, but if you were to get into an accident, the car seat can be used as the stabilizer and we can use rolled up blankets etc to keep the spine positioned. It can be removed from the vehicle without putting the child at risk for further spinal injury.

Yesterday around noon I came up on a tragic accident that had unfortunately just happened. A dump truck vs small compact car. I saw a gentleman outside waving cars past. I stopped and asked if anyone needed help. He said no, help is on the way. God told me to stop. I pulled over and ran to the vehicle. The man yelled at me telling me to stay away from the vehicle because of all the gasoline and oil from the two vehicles. It was pooled around the entire car. I told him I practiced emergency medicine and I'm checking on the injured. The driver was crushed from the car, and I could not help her with the situation she was in due to the vehicles condition. The passenger was deceased. And I noticed a small child in the back seat. I opened the door and saw a little boy not much older than Finn. He was in a regular backless booster seat with the shoulder belt. Which didn't keep him secure, therefore his little body had slipped down where his back was laying on the seat of the car seat. He had blood pouring from his mouth and wasn't moving, just looked up at me. I said in the softest voice that I could manage "hi there baby boy" and I touched the mother's shoulder in the driver's seat to show her I had her son. He didn't say a word..the cross belt had been wedged up into his throat, obstructing his airway. I did what I had been taught was able to free the belt without moving him. His belly was distended showing internal injuries and there were small handheld tools covering him. They must have been sitting in the seat beside him before the accident. I checked each one to make sure none were impaling him before I removed them. I stroked his head and held his hand talking to him and removing tools from his little body. I couldn't move him because of the way his neck and back were positioned. I told him to keep spitting out the blood because I had no way assist with suction. I scooped what looked like crackers he had been eating right before the impact out of his mouth and told his to keep spitting but don't move. Looking at the little boy, in shock...seeing his father lifeless and his mother moaning in pain...he has no idea what had just happened. It was the longest 4-6 minutes of my life. Talking to him with the softest voice as a mother would. When I heard the sirens approaching...I looked down and said, "do you hear that baby? ...those are for you and mommy and you are going to be ok". I stroked his forehead one last time and backed away as the firefighter approached. I told him my interventions quickly and that he needed suction. And I walked away back to my car.

As I sat in my car, shaking...covered in his blood. I wept. Praying to God to wrap his arms around this family and the changes to come. Praying to give the driver of the drump truck grace and forgiveness. Wishing the child was in the proper car seat to prevent some of the injuries he had sustained. I could have removed him from the vehicle and the danger of a fire. But I couldn't. He looked at me and just said "ouwy" ...and I couldn't move him, so all I could do was give him comfort.

I hope the mother heard my voice...giving her some peace that her baby was being attended to and he was alive. I hope I gave that little boy that looked like my son some comfort in the storm. I don't know if I wasn't there if he would have survived or not....the bystanders didn't know there was a child in the back being choked by his own seatbelt.

Please be mindful of the protection a car seat provides. The proper one for your childs height and weight. He was too little to be in that seat....I'm not blaming anyone. I am just thankful he is alive. It was also a lesson. To be to be more mindful of my children and to double check the positioning of their restraints.

I have been to many accidents working in EMS, but when you don't have the proper tools or preparation for the task, it is different. I cried a lot yesterday, and probably will today. Thinking of his face looking at me...his little body covered in his own blood. I prayed more prayers in one day than I have in a long time.

Sorry for the length. I feel writing and talking about trauma is important in healing. Hug your babies and spouses!

Update: June 18. Sweet little one is with Jesus....momma is still fighting .

Please give what you can to this poor family. Even $5 from each family will go a long way. The link to the GoFundMe is below. It is also in the comments. Thank you ahead of time for all the prayers for this family.

https://gf.me/u/x9g5i5