In my hand, I hold a helmet soaked in blood.
\nAnd trying to keep my hand from trembling too much while holding it\u2014I take a photo.
\nNot for this post.
\nBut for the helmet\u2019s owner\u2019s Mom.
\nMy Dominykas\u2019 friend\u2019s Mom.
\nWho, yesterday afternoon, receives the photo directly into the ambulance speeding with its sirens\u2014the sound of which still \u201cechoes\u201d in my head\u2014toward the emergency room.
\nAnd it will \u201cecho\u201d for a long time.<\/p>\n
Medics need as much information as possible about the nature of a head injury, the force of the impact, the location of the trauma.
\nAnd the damage to the helmet tells them a lot.<\/p>\n
Yesterday.
\nIt was a simple, sunny, fairly warm Sunday.
\nMy Dominykas went out for a bike ride with a friend a year older.
\nNot his first time on a bike.
\nNot the first time racing down the hill.
\nThey\u2019ve known each other for years.
\nBoth serious.
\nResponsible.
\nUnscathed heads.
\nJust two boys enjoying ordinary, regular boyish fun.<\/p>\n
But fate\u2019s threats are unknown.
\nOne jump for Dominykas\u2019 friend went wrong. Very wrong.
\nWhy? What was different? No one can say.<\/p>\n
But the fact is: the landing was such that the boy initially lost consciousness.
\nThen the seizures began.
\n\u201cWhen his eyes turned white,\u201d I thought, \u201cthis is really bad,\u201d my Do later recounted.<\/p>\n
The kids didn\u2019t panic.
\nThey weren\u2019t scared of the blood.
\nThey called 112 themselves and summoned help.
\nThey informed us.
\nThe medics were incredible.
\nThey arrived fast.
\nReacted instantly.<\/p>\n
Why am I telling this?
\nBecause after a long conversation Sunday evening with Dominykas\u2019 friend\u2019s Mom,
\nafter the medics confirmed that apart from stitches on the chin, many superficial injuries, and a mild concussion and contusion\u2014more serious head trauma had been avoided.
\nOn the phone, the Moms of these two wonderful boys expressed their joy, which broke through half a day of well-contained fear with double sighs.<\/p>\n
\u201cVika, you know how to reach deep with words!\u201d she asked me.
\n\u201cWrite to all Moms, that only the helmet prevented today\u2019s scenario from being tragic.\u201d<\/p>\n
I write.
\nBecause I heard that on the other end of the line was the HAPPIEST MOM in the world.
\nWho, after a terrifyingly anxious time, learned: THE CHILD WILL BE OK.
\nBecause serious injuries were avoided thanks to the right helmet.
\nDoctors examined the child and confirmed it several times.<\/p>\n
No.
\nWe Moms of boys cannot keep them locked safely at home, building Lego and flipping through books.
\nWe cannot be right there under collapsing pillow forts.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo,\u201d I smile after the stress, \u201cI\u2019ll lock the bike away.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd what will I do for fun then?\u201d asks my teen.
\n\u201cEmbroider cross-stitch,\u201d I joke.<\/p>\n
No.
\nThey don\u2019t grow up without scratches and bruises.
\nWithout broken hands or fingers.
\nWithout stitches.
\nWe cannot cover their adventures with protective soft pillows.
\nBut!
\nWe can buy them helmets and instill in their beloved heads the fact that without them\u2014
\nnot a single step toward adventure!<\/p>\n
If you have adventure-seekers by your side\u2014
\nshow them a photo of a broken helmet painted pink.
\nTell the story of one Sunday afternoon, \u201cechoing\u201d with ambulance sirens.
\nInside was a boy brimming with life, enjoying time with a friend.<\/p>\n
The good news: he didn\u2019t forget to fasten the helmet.
\nAnd after recovery,
\nhe will return to grasp life\u2019s adventures with his little hands again.
\nIt could have been very different.
\nVery, very different.<\/p>\n
Mua,
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17773","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}