Madison Burgess
Emilie Kiser has shown her support for fellow influencer Kelly Hopton-Jones, who accidentally ran over her 23-month-old son.
The parenting influencer, 36, who is better known on social media by her blog Hillside Farmhouse and also shares a three-year-old daughter called Lily with her husband Brian, took to Instagram on Wednesday (15 April) to tell her followers about the scary accident involving her younger child, Henry.
In the video, Kelly, who is based in Texas and has 63,000 followers, explained: "It started like any normal day. I was taking Lily to get donuts before her dance performance.
"Brian was staying home with Henry, and was going to meet us there. He helped Lily into the car and was waving goodbye between our car and Henry, who was in the garage."
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She continued: 'In a matter of seconds, our son was run over by our car. I was driving. Our neighbours stepped in immediately and took Lily, and we rushed to the emergency room."
Henry, who is almost two years old, is in hospital recovering from his injuries after the accident, following X-rays of his legs, chest, and neck which all came back as normal
The influencer added that a CT scan shows no injury to his organs or spinal cord, and the neurological exam has been 'reassuring' with no signs of head injury or impairment.
However, doctors confirmed that he does have 'fractures to his pelvis that will take time to heal as well as a few abrasions'.
Kelly continued: "We are in shock. We are sad. But we are so incredibly grateful. We keep replaying it, trying to understand how this could have happened when we were right there. I don't have that answer. But I do know this has changed us."
She explained that from now on, there will be a 'non-negotiable' hand-holding rule for her children around vehicles.
Warning other parents, she added, "Even when you are not distracted. Even when you are not rushing. It can still happen in the blink of an eye. We are holding him a little tighter tonight."
In the caption, she admitted she's been asking herself questions like 'Why weren't we holding him' and ' Why didn't I double check before pulling out'.
"We could drive ourselves crazy with the what-ifs, and honestly, we are a little bit. But accidents happen," she affirmed, "And I keep coming back to what I would tell my own kids one day if this happened to them.
'"It would be a lot kinder than the things we're telling ourselves right now. Accidents happen, and the only mistakes are the ones we don't learn from. We're on the lucky side of a very tragic accident."
The comments were flooded with support, including from influencer Emilie, 27, whose three-year-old son Trigg, whom she shared with her husband, Brady, drowned in their family pool in May last year.
She wrote: "I'm so incredibly sorry," alongside a bandaged heart emoji.
Her message of support to Kelly comes after the influencer broke her silence on Trigg's death for the first time in November, six months after his heartbreaking death.
She wrote on social media: "The light and spirit he brought into this world was bright, pure, joyful, and undeniable. We miss him every second of every day and continuing forward often feels unbearable."
Emilie claimed to take 'full accountability' for Trigg's passing, adding: "I know I should have done more to protect him. One of the hardest lessons I carry is that a permanent pool fence could have saved his life, and it's something I will never overlook again.
"I hope amidst this pain, Trigg's story will help prevent other children and families from suffering the same loss."