Personal Narrative: My Trip To The Emergency Room

I had no idea that a simple trip to the local supermarket would result in a trip to the emergency room. This was definitely a tragic day that I will not soon forget. I have always been cautious about the safety of my children, taking every step to be sure I do what I can to keep them out of harm's way. Unfortunately, on this day, I did everything I could and it still did not make a difference.

I left my house that morning feeling happy and refreshed from my morning shower. My son, Adrian, was only three years old and he was excited to go to the store on this particular morning. I strapped him into his car seat, jumped in the driver's side, and off we went. I arrived at the store and right away found my favorite parking space. I felt

as if this day was going perfect. As I always do when I get to the store, I began to search for the shopping cart with the child's toy car attached to the front where a child can sit and pretend they are driving the cart. These shopping carts were my favorite because Adrian liked to play with the steering wheel and the little horn attached to the car. I spotted the cart I was hoping to find, grabbed it, and began to get Adrian out of the van and into this favorite toy car of his. I bent down and strapped him in, being sure the seatbelt in the toy car was secured.

As we entered the store I began to look for the items on my list. I went aisle by aisle just in case I saw something I would need for the upcoming week. I was almost done, and on my way to the checkout counter when I heard my son scream at top of his lungs. I stopped the cart and rushed to the front, bent over and could see blood pouring from his cheek, about an inch from his eye! I tried to pull him out, but I panicked when I saw him bleeding, and I forgot he was strapped in. I struggled to release the safety latch, snatched him up and ran to the closest cashier. She saw his face and grimaced. I asked her for a paper towel. She snatched one off the roll and gave it to me and I ran out of the store like a mad woman. I kept repeating in my mind "how could this happen when he was strapped in?"

I was in hysterics when I got to the emergency room check-in window.

They gave me some gauze and told me to apply a little pressure to stop the bleeding. Every time I would remove the gauze I could see how his flesh had been ripped, deep, in the shape of an "L". It looked as if one of the metal corners of the food shelves had dug a hole right into his cheek. I recall thinking that I had taken every precaution I could have to make sure he was safe. I still felt as if I had done something wrong. Had I turned the corner to quickly or been too close to the metal shelves? I remember feeling as if I had failed him in some way. Luckily after they stitched his cheek up, and as the years have passed by, his head has grown and the scar is almost completely off of his face.

This event has changed my outlook on seat belts for good. I now know that a seat belt does give security and help prevent accidents but they are in no way a promise that tragedy cannot occur. I will never put any of my children in one of those toy car carts, and for months after I would warn any mother that I saw with their child in one. If I think about it, I honestly have not seen one at that store in over a year. Just thinking that they removed them makes me feel

better.