An Australian mother is advising parents to be more careful when putting their children in shopping carts after a freak accident nearly killed her daughter. The toddler was seated in the cart while her mother put her brother in the car, and the shopping cart tipped over and hit the ground. The baby hit her head, causing a severe head injury.
The unidentified mother shared her story with the Instagram account cprkids. Images of her daughter Millie, whose age is unknown, show just how serious the fall was. The little girl's head is significantly swollen and wrapped in bandages. Thankfully, doctors expect her to recover fully, but her mother wants things to change to keep other children safe.
The accident happened in a matter of seconds.
The mother explains that she was strapping her son, Lincoln, into the car when the cart her daughter was still sitting in blew off the curb and tipped over, causing Millie to crash to the ground and hit her head on the pavement.
Her mother rushed her to the hospital, where doctors performed a CT scan. This is when they discovered that Millie had a "large brain bleed causing pressure on her brain."
Millie had emergency surgery.
After doctors discovered the brain bleed, they prepped her for surgery. She was sedated and intubated and rushed to a pediatric hospital, where she had emergency brain surgery. The surgery took nearly two hours, but it was a success.
"Shes doing amazing. Had a follow up ct which showed her brain is looking great," the post reads. "They lowered the sedation, and took the breathing tube out. Shes flying through her tests and She's getting stronger. She's now trying to sit up, smiling and eating. Her cheeky self is coming through now and I can't be happier and proud of her progress."
The story could have had a tragic ending.
Thankfully, Millie survived and is now home recovering. Her mother wants shopping carts to change and to include more safety features.
"All shopping trolleys with child restraints need to have a braking system in place. I am determined to make this happen," she shared. "If I can do this and it stops just one child from being injured than it will be a success."
Other parents shared similar stories on Instagram.
Millie and her mother are not the only families to experience a scary situation with a shopping cart.
"I was struggling steering one with my little one in it a couple of days ago and thinking the same! It's so scary to feel the trolley slipping out of your control," a parent shared. "So glad Millie is ok, she and her mum are very brave. Sending Millie a big hug and wishing her a speedy recovery! ❤️"
"Thanks for sharing @cprkids I was in woolies the other day which has those new green recycled trollies which aren't as heavy as the metal ones and the Woolworths employee came over to me and said "these trolleys have a tendency to tip so please be careful with your little one" it was such a great reminder as I was very naive to it all," another parent wrote.
Head injuries are serious.
Millie's accident had a happy ending, but that is not always the case regarding head injuries. They can vary from minor to catastrophic, depending on the degree of the injury. John Hopkins Medicine explains that some head injuries can have lifelong complications.
"Children who suffer a severe brain injury may lose part(s) of muscle, speech, vision, hearing, or taste function depending on the area of brain damage. Long- or short-term changes in personality or behavior may also occur. These children require lifelong medical and rehabilitative (physical, occupational, or speech therapy) management," the website reports.
It also suggests that parents put precautions into place to prevent head injuries. This includes simple things such as using seat belts in cars and wearing helmets while riding a bike, scooter, skateboard, or skating. Promoting safe play will help lessen the probability of a serious injury occurring.
