A shellshocked mother in the States is this week issuing a warning to fellow parents about a commonplace piece of household furniture, which she says could have killed her two-year-old son.
Mum-of-two Shayna - who is also a paediatric nurse and first aid business owner - had been working downstairs in her home when suddenly, she heard a colossal thud from the floor above, where her little boy Brayden had been playing.
In a video later posted to her social media channel, the terrified medic claimed she instantly 'had a feeling' what had happened as she hurriedly made her way upstairs.
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When she reached her own bedroom, her worst nightmare became a reality after she saw that the room's towering chest of drawers had fallen onto the tot and was crushing him.
Brayden had opened all the drawers inside the heavy, solid wood dresser and used them as steps to climb up in order to reach something at the top.
Thankfully, the youngster had predominantly managed to wriggle his way out from under the hefty piece of furniture, but his leg had remained trapped.
"He managed to escape it and just got his leg stuck in the gap between the bottom drawer and the floor (not actually stuck under the dresser by the grace of God)," Shayna told viewers of her Instagram post this week.
In fear of this exact, potentially-fatal incident, the mother and her husband had attached her two children's furniture to the wall, to prevent it from toppling onto them.
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They didn't think to secure the furniture in their own bedroom, though.
"You guys know I share medical educational stuff, motherhood, marriage, etc but this one was so hard for me to share," she penned online.
"Total mum fail and it freaking mortifies me that he could’ve been seriously hurt. So, take my mistakes and learn from them."
According to a 2021 report by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission - as reported by CBS - between the years of 2000 and 2019, 451 children under 17 were killed by furniture and TVs tipping over and crushing them.
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Since her son's heart-stopping accident, Shayna - known as @the.medical.mamas on Instagram - spoke to 7Life about what happened, revealing she's received 'hundreds if not thousands of messages of this similar thing happening to other families'.
She told the publication: "I have heard from parents thinking, ‘Oh my gosh I never would have thought about that’ and saying how grateful they are that this video went viral and they were able to be educated.
"It’s really been cool to educate families and hopefully prevent something serious from happening."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@the.medical.mamasTopics: Parenting, News, US News