We should discuss the importance of HELMETS for children!
My husband and I are very intelligent people. We thought that the kids could just hop on my husband's atv for a few minutes up the trail and back down - just to see where Daddy hunts. My husband comes from a long line of hunting and his dad did this with him - it was a bonding experience....initially.
My husband had John in his lap and Jacob right behind him. That is how the children normally ride with him. They don't normally climb any hills on the ATV and know the rules of staying seated. However, Jacob couldn't see once they started to climb the hill, so he tried to stand up. Jacob and John do not have helmets that fit them. Daddy was not wearing his. Like I mentioned, it was a quick ride and a last minute thought to take the kids up there. Jacob went to stand up. Daddy let off of the throttle to reach back and make him sit back down. Unfortunately, my husband thinks he turned the handlebars during that time and the ATV got sideways in the trail. It was a point of no return. My husband could NOT evacuate the ATV with children on board! He leaned over John and protected him during the 1 complete revolution of the rollover. John got one small bruise on his back and a tiny scratch on his face. My husband's right shoulder was pretty scratched up, but that's it. They got up. Daddy looks at John staring off. "John! John! Are you okay? John! Answer me, John!" John finally says, " Look, Daddy! Jacob is hurt!" He looks over and Jacob is running around with blood gushing out of his head and screaming! We do not know if he jumped before it flipped and landed on a rock or if the ATV flipped him off and onto a rock. Joe scooped them up and hauled them quickly down the mountain. I was on a different trail - I have no helmet of my own. His cousin came and brought me down there. When I opened the door, my husband announced, "Jacob has a hole in his head!" This was all such a surreal moment! The kids were smiling and excited to be hanging out with Daddy and on the 4wheeler, too! Now this?!? I jumped in the backseat and my husband already had his shirt on Jacob's head and had Jacob holding pressure. Anyone else might've panicked, but not my husband! I'm proud of him for that. Do we have regrets? OMG YES! It's like letting your child help you cook and a pot accidentally gets pulled down on them! Yes, you would have regrets and you knew you shouldn't have stepped away to answer that phone, etc.
Jacob needed 5 stitches when we got him to the local band-aid hospital. I actually watched the doctor put his finger inside of my son's head. He was checking for bone fragments. Jacob had a CT scan and that terrified him. Jacob is 4 years old and small for a 4 year old. This little fella was so terrified and in so much pain at the same time. The CT scan showed a skull fracture - linear fracture with 3 mm of subhematoma beneath the surface. They were ill-prepared to handle this situation or children, in general. He had to be life-flighted 2 hours away from there. Life flights = NO PARENTS can go! Just FYI. He got there in 15 minutes. We were in the mountains, so we had to drive 2 hours out to our house to drive John to my oldest son. Then, it was 1 hour to the hospital from our house.
We had a lot to discuss on the way to the hospital. He regretted the decision to go up the hill and wished he had stayed on the flat area with them. I was/still am not mad at my husband. He honestly thought he was bonding with our children! We thought it was a quick ride - what could possibly go wrong? Well, this 700 lbs of ATV could've killed one/both of the kids. Jacob could've been brain dead or paralyzed. My husband could've broken his neck! They seriously had a LOT of angels watching over them! My husband said that the snorkel kit on the front of the ATV (from a previous creek ride in TN that he did) is what actually saved them during the rollover!
Please note: I am under NO circumstances condoning riding without proper safety devices. This is my mission actually - to inform others about what could've happened in a blink of an eye! My son jumped up - nobody predicted that would happen! Should you live your life in fear of what might happen? Absolutely not! Just take proper precautions. If helmets do not fit, do not put the child on board! Even a helmet is not 100% during a rollover, but it would've protected my youngest!
Jacob is a regular little boy running around again - he's my accident-prone child to top it all off. I worry every day about him and John. I had my share of nurses and docs telling me what a bonehead idea it was to take the kids on the ATV. Yea, WE KNOW! Enough with giving your opinions!!
I encountered one male nurse at the first hospital. Here's what he had to say, "Do NOT let your husband blame himself for this accident at all! He doesn't drink. He doesn't beat his children. He was simply trying to bond with his children and teach them what Daddy does when he goes hunting. There is nothing wrong with that. Just take better precautions next time!" I couldn't agree more!
We are extraordinarily blessed! If you know anyone (we know lots) that lets their kids and themselves ride without helmets, share our story. Don't think, "That can never happen to me!"
