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The narrow space of our spare room saved my child’s life…

August 13, 2009 by Susan

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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I never thought I’d be thanking the Lord that the bedrooms in our townhouse are so small.

But tonight, the narrow space of our spare room saved Julia’s life!

We always fasten our dressers and bookcases to the wall so that they won’t tip over. But somehow in our spare room, we forgot to secure one large bookcase.

Julia and her friend Madison saw something high on a shelf and wanted it. Madison’s mom started to run up the stairs to reach it for them, but they decided to try and get it themselves and started to climb on the bookcase.

Before Madison’s mom could get up the stairs, she heard the huge crash and screamed for me to come.

The entire bookcase had come crashing down on top of both girls, but stopped just short of crushing them because it hit a baby change table on the opposite side of the room.

The girls were safe in the space between the floor and where the bookcase struck the change table.

Since the room is so small, the bookcase did not have space to reach the ground and the girls escaped with only bruises and tears.

I can’t forgive myself for forgetting to fasten that bookcase and I can’t get over the miracle of such a small bedroom.

 

 
Written by Susan, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom
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About Susan

Susan Carraretto and her identical twin, Janice Croze, created 5 Minutes for Mom in 2006. Susan loves all social media, but her top addiction these days is Pinterest.

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24 Comments

  1. Susan says

    August 16, 2009 at 2:20 am

    Thank you all so much for your heartfelt comments.

    I can’t stop thanking God that we were sooooo lucky. I feel so terrible for Katie and Meghan (e http://katieeliselambert.org/ and http://meghanshope.org ) and their families that they were not so fortunate. I doesn’t seem fair that their families should have lost them. Tragedies like that are so hard to accept and understand. But what wonderful work both families are doing to educate us all.

    Thank you all again so much!

    Reply
  2. Petula says

    August 15, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    Oh that must have been very scary, but I am so glad they weren’t hurt. I was thinking about that regarding some bookshelves in my office. One I actually have leaned back with something under the front end to make sure it keeps leaning. It’s one reason why I don’t like my youngest daughter (or any of the children, for that matter) in the office without an adult present.

    Please don’t beat yourself up about it – it’s just one of those things. Things like that happen to the best of us.

    Reply
  3. Julie says

    August 15, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Oh Susan the drama! The girls were so unhurt and you must forgive yourself. Even to look at examples of others that were not so lucky is not even a related situation. You are cautious to a fault and we love you for it! The only reason the girls even cried was because they thought they were in trouble which they were not. You are such a caring person but let yourself off the hook! Don’t worry about what could have happened because it didn’t! and now your shelf is secure…

    XOXOX

    Reply
  4. Heather says

    August 14, 2009 at 8:57 am

    How frightening! Glad they are okay.

    Reply
  5. Maryanne says

    August 13, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    What a story that just brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps. Heavenly Father is always watching over us.

    Reply
  6. Holly says

    August 13, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    I’m glad that your child and her friend were not hurt. Other families have not been so lucky. See http://katieeliselambert.org/ and http://meghanshope.org — almost five years after my friend lost her daughter, I’m still reading stories like yours (and worse). I hope the day will come when all parents attach all furniture to the walls.

    Reply
  7. Web Hosting Reviews says

    August 13, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    This is a great lesson for you.Thank GOD,no one gets hurt.This really shares another great idea so that this able to remind us to be careful enough and make sure to have a safe place for our kids.

    Reply
  8. AmyG says

    August 13, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    Wow… I’m glad they are both OK. God works in great ways!

    Reply
  9. Tarasview says

    August 13, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    everyone makes mistakes my dear and God clearly was taking care of Julia and her little friend! Don’t be too hard on yourself… it is impossible to keep everything straight all the time. 🙂

    (((hugs)))

    Reply
  10. Carrie says

    August 13, 2009 at 11:56 am

    Oh, I’m so glad no one was hurt!

    Reply
  11. Marj McClendon says

    August 13, 2009 at 11:49 am

    Our Lord provides, safety in this case, for the little ones. Blessed be.

    Reply
  12. Bailey's Leaf says

    August 13, 2009 at 11:38 am

    We forgot to attach the toy wall bin organizer to the wall and it fell over on K-. She ended up with a bump on the noggin, a bruise and some tears, but we strapped that to the wall right after.

    Don’t sweat it, it happens to all of us. But it does go to show you that sometimes space isn’t what you need in a particular moment. Lack of definitely proved to be a lifesaver.

    Praise!

    Reply
  13. MamaB says

    August 13, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Indeed, thank G-d no one was hurt. And I just IM’ed my husband to remind him that we have some playroom shelves that need to be fastened to the wall.

    Reply
  14. Shelly says

    August 13, 2009 at 10:58 am

    Wow. Just wow.

    Thank God no one was hurt. And tonight, I’m going to go around and double check that all our bookcases, etc. are fastened securely to the walls.

    Reply
  15. angie says

    August 13, 2009 at 10:56 am

    so glad your child was safe

    Reply
  16. Kathy C. says

    August 13, 2009 at 9:27 am

    That’s a great reminder to definitely fasten tall things to the wall…thank you for posting that. I don’t have little ones at home, but we still fasten things to the wall, and I’m sure there are many out there who appreciate your post! Thank Jesus they are safe!
    Have a beautiful day!

    Reply
  17. Sandybali says

    August 13, 2009 at 9:10 am

    🙂
    Wonderful Moms,
    All of you are the angels God sent to watch those child/ren 🙂

    Will you please share how to take care of child/ren who can not control themselves ?
    Because they are Autistic ?
    * * * * *

    Reply
  18. WackyMummy says

    August 13, 2009 at 8:37 am

    Scary! Same thing has happened to us, probably to a lot of people, and miracles happen everyday… we haven’t been hurt yet!

    Reply
  19. Corn says

    August 13, 2009 at 8:22 am

    Oh, my heart stopped just reading this…I have done so many things that I could just kick myself for, but Thank God that they are OK and Thank God for the small room. I have a small home grateful for it. Besides its the new trend…..

    Reply
  20. Carrie F. says

    August 13, 2009 at 7:44 am

    Oh gosh, that could have been horrible!!! Praise God for the little things that we don’t think of but He does!!

    Reply
  21. Steph (My Country Haven) says

    August 13, 2009 at 6:29 am

    Praise God for small (and large) miracles! What a blessing it was for you that it was a bookcase in that room. I know you’re very thankful that they weren’t hurt and that they learned a very valuable lesson with only a few bruises. Praise God!

    Reply
  22. Twisted Cinderella says

    August 13, 2009 at 6:21 am

    How scary! I am glad that they weren’t hurt!

    Reply
  23. brandy says

    August 13, 2009 at 6:19 am

    thank goodness she wasn’t hurt.

    Reply

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