Warning!!

Many of you may know but some may not of our sweet Chloe's story. Click here to read why these articles touch so close to home for me. I beg you to read this and seriously consider these recommendations and take action.

I write this post because I feel compelled to warn others of the danger of allowing children remotely near lawn mowers of any kind. Please, giving your child a ride on a lawn mower is NOT a "fun family thing" to do, it highly dangerous and has such a great potential to do severe damage. We need to instill a healthy "fear" and respect for the lawn mower.

For your children's sake, PLEASE teach them proper safety measures when it comes to lawn mowers. And please PASS it on to your friends and family.

I wish with all my heart someone would have shared this warning with us.

This July marked the 7 year anniversary of Chloe's accident and amputation...think about it...

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"The No. 1 advice to parents is: Treat the lawn mower as hazardous equipment, not a toy. You don't let a child play with an electric saw, and that's exactly what a lawn mower is," Carol Gentry, pediatric OR nurse manager, said in a prepared statement.

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"Lawn mower-related injuries account for more than 51% of traumatic amputations among children. Major limb loss is most commonly caused by lawn mowers for children under the age of 10.

Kendra Calhoun, president and chief executive officer of the Amputee Coalition, stated in a press release. “Amputations from lawn mower accidents are among the most preventable. By following common-sense safety rules, you can prevent lawn mower injuries to yourself and others.”

The tips:
• Keep children under 6 years old indoors while a power mower is in operation.
• Let no child under 12 use a walk-behind mower.
• Keep children under 16 off ride-on mowers, even if with a parent.
• If you are mowing and you see a child running toward you, turn off the mower immediately. Children can fall and slip into the blade, especially if the grass is wet.
• Wear protective goggles and close-toed shoes when operating a mower or when near one.
• Before mowing, clean the lawn of debris such as sticks and stones, which may get caught in the blades and propelled out.
• If injury occurs, call 911 right away and apply pressure to the wound to stop bleeding while you await an ambulance.
• Buy mowers with a no-reverse safety feature that requires the operator to turn around (and see behind him) in order to shift into reverse.

~ Source ~

The Amputee Coalition offers these safety guidelines:

1. Never allow children to play on a lawn mower, even if it is turned off;
2. Never allow a child to ride on a riding lawn mower with you;
3. Keep your children indoors and do not allow other children to play nearby while you are mowing; and
4. Children should be 12 years of age or older before operating any lawn mower and at least 16 years old to operate a riding mower.

Before starting your lawn mower, use this simple Amputee Coalition checklist, which is based on information from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Keep this checklist in your garage or near your mowing equipment. 

It only takes a minute to prevent disaster.

Before Mowing:

1. Pick up stones, toys and debris from the lawn to prevent injuries from flying objects;
2. Wear shoes, not sandals;
3. Use eye and hearing protection;
4. Start and refuel mowers outdoors, never in a garage;
5. Refuel with the motor turned off and cool; and
6. Have an adult adjust blade settings.

While Mowing:

1. Only use mowers with automatic shutdown abilities; and
2. Do not mow in reverse unless necessary.

After Mowing:

1. Wait for blades to stop completely before removing the grass catcher, unclogging the discharge chute, or crossing gravel roads."

~Source~

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NEEDLESS limb loss accidents CAN be prevented by taking simple commonsense precautions.

Every time you start your mower, you are dealing with a dangerous and potentially deadly piece of equipment. 

~Source~

"For about 70,000 people this year, mowing the lawn will turn into a brush with death or serious injury. The statistics, from the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, are harrowing: Each year 800 children are run over by riding mowers or small tractors; 75 people are killed, and 20,000 injured; one in five deaths involves a child.

Let’s face it, lawnmowers are dangerous tools, but they are so common that people may not treat them seriously. Underneath the mower deck is a steel cutting blade spinning at more than 2000 revolutions per minute. Depending on its length, the blade tip may be moving at 200 mph.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, a moving lawn mower blade is powerful. “The energy transferred by a typical lawn mower blade is equivalent to being shot in the hand with a .357 magnum pistol.” That is certainly enough to mangle a hand or foot. And an injury from lawn mower blade is not neat. The blade does not make a “clean” cut, and it fills the wound with dirt, grass, and a host of other contaminants.

An injury from contacting the blade is not the only danger from a running mower. The blade speed can turn rocks, stick, or other debris into deadly projectiles. And don’t forget, the mower engine itself gets hot enough to ignite gasoline or cause third-degree burns, the most serious kind. For riding mowers, other dangers include tipping the mower over on a hill, losing control of the mower, or accidentally backing over an object or person."

~ Source ~