A Florida mother had frightening experience recently when her son woke up with a headache and just a few hours later was rushed into surgery with his life hanging in the balance.
The terrifying ordeal began after Tiffany Rivera’s son, Jaden, had fallen off his bike while out. He was not wearing a helmet that day, but said that he had only scraped his elbow and knee. He showed no signs of trauma and continued about his day, said Tiffany.
Two days later, Jaden woke up with a headache and was wasn’t his usual energetic self. Tiffany took a closer look at her son and noticed he had some swelling around his right temple. When she touched it, she noticed it was “squishy” and didn’t feel like a normal bruise. She decided to take him to the hospital right away.
Doctors ran a CT scan on Jaden and made a frightening diagnosis. He needed surgery within the hour and only had 50/50 odds of surviving!
Tiffany shared her powerful story on Facebook to encourage everyone – children and adults – to always wear a bike helmet no matter what:
“On Monday March 21 2016 my 10 year old son Jaden was riding his bike without a helmet. While riding his bike he fell off scrapping up his elbow and knee. When he was asked if anything else hurt his only complaints where his elbow and knee. He showed no signs of trauma and continued about his day.
“Fast forward to Wednesday morning March 23 2016. Jaden woke up complaining of a headache and seemed very lethargic, which was not his normal self at all. All Jaden wanted to do was lay down and didn’t want to eat anything. After looking at Jaden you could see swelling around his right temple. The spot on his temple was not hard, more like really squishy. I decided to take him to the hospital. The moment I had Jaden in the car he started vomiting.”
Photo credit: Tiffany Rivera / Facebook
“Once Jaden arrived at Saint Mary’s Children’s hospital a CT scan was done. The diagnosis was Right temporal fracture of the skull and right temporal epidural hematoma. The Doctors explained to me that my son need emergency surgery within the hour to try and save his life. The chances of him making it were a 50/50 chance.
“Jaden underwent surgery and once they were in found the damage to be extensive. They preformed a Right frontotemporal craniotomy, removal of the epidural hematoma and had to place a wire mesh cranioplasty on his skull. The surgery was only supposed to take 1 1/2 hours, Jaden was in surgery for 2 1/2 hours. We were told by the surgeon and other doctors that it was a miracle he survived. All other cases the kids never came out of surgery.”
Photo credit: Tiffany Rivera / Facebook
“On April 5th 2016 Jaden turned 11 with almost no permanent damage or disability. My family and I would like to thank the Trauma Surgical Team and PICU at Saint Mary’s Children’s hospital in West Palm Beach Florida.”
Photo credit: Tiffany Rivera / Facebook
“I am telling you this in hopes to raise awareness for all children and adults why you need to wear a helmet. Help others be aware of the dangers of riding without the proper safety equipment. This can happen to anyone! The injuries my son had were equal to those in a motorcycle accident!
“The pictures start from as soon as we came to the hospital, after surgery, 32 staples in his head, and the removal of the staples on April 13 2016. Please everyone share this post and pictures!”
On Monday March 21 2016 my 10 year old son Jaden was riding his bike without a helmet. While riding his bike he fell off…
Posted by Tiffany A Rivera on Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Tiffany’s story is a strong reminder for parents to make sure that their kids wear their helmets and that you explain to them the importance of wearing one (even if you are not around to check). According to the latest research by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, bike helmets can reduce the risk of head injuries by 85 percent!
Wearing a helmet is not only necessary for children but for adults too! Please share this important reminder with your friends!
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