My Blog

      What started as an ordinary day turned out to be every parent’s nightmare.  when the accident involving my son happened, i died a little.  and i will never forget April 16, 2008.

     my son, Enrickquito, and i woke up to another summer day - sunny and very hot, even early in the morning.  as the day wore on, the sky turned bluer, with not a cloud in sight. 

     and so we went on with our usual activities, thinking this day would be no different from the previous ones, only the temperature a notch higher.

     when 4pm came, we were outside near the gate, watching the eastern sky turn black, as clouds heavy with rain slowly approached, bringing with them winds that were unusually strong for a summer day.  yes, rain was coming all right and it might come down hard!

     thus, my uncle immediately climbed up the roof to fix the leaks. 

     thus, i left my son to my auntie Fe so i could go inside to prepare his milk.

     after a minute, auntie Fe, who was not so agile anymore due to her heavy weight, gave enrickquito to auntie sally because according to her, "baka matinnag ko. (i might drop him)."

     thus, auntie sally gladly took enrickquito in her arms, and danced with him, sang with him, played with him.  however, their frolicking in the garage was cut short by the sudden clap of thunder!  rain was indeed about to fall!

     thus, she decided they go inside the house.  the problem was, auntie sally forgot uncle inggo was on the roof, repairing the gutter with a hammer. 

     thus, she and my son walked right under the spot where my uncle was.

     thus, the hammer fell, 10 meters down, on enrickquito’s head.

     it was an accident.  nobody wanted it to happen.  but it did happen.  and it happened to my 9-month old baby.

     i remember, i was still inside our house then, about to go out with his milk, when i felt something had gone wrong.  i could feel it down to my bones, SOMETHING BAD HAD HAPPENED.  a few seconds after my motherly instincts kicked in, i heard my son’s screams of pain, then my uncle shouting just this one phrase,

     "Lahnee!!  lahnee!!  puntahan mo yung bata!! puntahan mo yung bata!!(go to the baby!! go to the baby!!)

     with my heart pounding, i dropped the milk bottle and flew down the stairs to where my son was.  all along, i could feel my brain telling my feet, "go faster!  enrickquito is in danger!" 

     what greeted me was actually an ordinary sight.  auntie sally was rocking enrickquito to calm him down. 

     but as a mother, i knew something was wrong with my son.  aside from the fact that he was screaming like a pig being butchered, his cries of pain tore to my heart like a knife.  with tears running down his face, his eyes were pleading for me to get him in the safe cradle of my arms.

     scooping him from auntie sally, i asked, "anya nangyari auntie? (what happened auntie?)"

     calmly, she answered, "baka natinnagan ti martilyo ta abaga na.  kitaem to damdama ta baka idiay tu a lumteg. (the hammer might have fallen on his shoulder.  check it later because the bump may then be visible.)"

     but my heart knew something worse than a shoulder wound was the source of my baby’s wails.

     and my brain was telling me to check his head, since it was located above his shoulders, and was most likely to be hit by the falling hammer.

     parting his hair, i immediately smelled blood. 

     and my heart stopped. 

     when my fingers became sticky with enrickquito’s blood, my heart stopped again. 

     and when i saw the blood, i lost a few years of my life.  i died a little.

     enrickquito’s head was bleeding because a damn hammer fell on it!  my precious baby, my poor baby..  of all the things that hammer could have fallen on to, why on my son?  he was only 9 months old!  why not, uh, auntie sally?  (hehehe, sorry po)

     thank god, only my strength left me (and for just a few seconds) and not my wits and common sense.

     immediately after i saw the wound, we put ice on it.  and i started to pray.

     quickly, we got ready to go to the hospital.  i was still praying.

     through the long the drive to Lorma Medical Center, i remained calm because my baby needed me and was dependent on my clear thinking.  still, i didn’t stop praying.

     when the doctors were examining and treating his wound, when xrays were done on his skull, i never stopped praying.

my baby was hurt, i should be strong and i shouldn’t stop praying!!..

    

     and thank god, our prayers were answered according to our wishes.  enrickquito was okay.  xray results showed normal findings, no fractures whatsoever.  the wound on his head was not deep, it was actually a small cut.  my son did not get drowsy nor sleepy, he did not throw up, didn’t have fever. 

a miracle indeed.

     that day, April 16, i went through a roller coaster ride of emotions.  an accident happened and i was gripped with the fear of losing my son; yet, i didn’t let it control my senses.  i was very worried , yet i did not panic.  the mother in me ruled, thus i recognized the need for clear and quick thinking.  and most of all, i included God through it all.

     and to those who prayed with us,

     those who asked God to save my baby,

     those who showed their concern and support,

     THANK YOU..

(Tita Carmelita, Lorraine, Omeng and Rose, thank you for your moral support, for your prayers.  why, even your simple question of "what happened?" had touched my heart and given me strength. thank you so much.)

note:  this was the blasted hammer i was talking about.  see how big it was?  and see how small my baby’s head?  …  a miracle indeed..

(this picture was taken today, May 2, and not on the day the accident happened.  i did this for comparison.)