Today was one of those days that all parents fear…

One of those days that you pray will never happen and you feel sick to your stomach when you read some other persons story.  Well today was one of those days for me.

It all started as a normal suburban Saturday, we had a birthday party to go to for one of my sons friends at a local sports dome.  They had a big soccer game planned (amazingly organized by the birthday boys parents), followed by pizza and cake.  After the kids enjoyed some food they were able to go back into the dome where the dome had set up a big bounce house very similar to this one from Ninja Jump (just a different theme) a company from California.

The boys were all playing and having fun in here.  I started thinking that someone was going to get hurt, but never thought that there was a risk like what happened today.  The house has black mesh sides and it is very hard to see inside.

I watched my kids playing inside and moved around checking on both and chatting with a fellow parent who’s son is in my son’s class.  All of the sudden my son starts crying and then screaming and crying and screaming.  I went over to him and started talking to him through the net, I thought other kids were just bugging him so I told him to come out.  The opening was all the way on the other side.  He starts really screaming at the same time that another boy is pulling on his leg, so I yell for him to stop and to my son to get out now.  He screams even louder and one of the other kids tells me that he has this rope wrapped around his neck.  I look above him and see this green rope, and I look at my son who is grabbing at his neck.

It was all in a split second.  I didn’t do anything but run.  I threw down my water bottle, purse and kicked my shoes across the sports dome as I ran around this thing.  I ran up the slide and immediately knew I could not pull him up so I jumped down beside him and tried pushing him up to get slack and free the rope.  It wouldn’t work, it was as tall as me.  I start begging for this kid at the top of the slide to help me pull him up, what that poor boy must have been thinking… but he did nothing.  The father of the birthday boy and his sister must have heard me because they both came running in and he grabbed my son and pushed him up, removed the cord and pulled him out.

See the red line, that is a rope that hangs down the part where they climb up to go down the slide.  This rope just hangs there, it isn’t fastened at the bottom or anything…

That is where I found my son hanging with a rope wrapped around his neck.

I was in shock… I followed his sister out of this death trap and immediately went to my son who was crying.  I felt like I was going to vomit, I was shaking and wanted to freak out and yell.  I wanted to know how this happened.  Kids start telling me that some boy wrapped it around his neck and pushed him,they are pointing at all these different kids.  I just sat there and hugged my boy. His little sister even came over and started rubbing his back to make sure he was okay.

I just wanted to leave, but I knew that there was no way I could drive these two kids home.  I was so shaken up and all I could do was stop myself from vomiting all over the ground.  Some other parents distracted my son and got him to go off and kick around the soccer ball.  By the time I was a little calmer I asked him if he wanted to leave and he said no, so we stayed for a little while longer.

I just needed to stop shaking…

My 6 year old son was able to tell me exactly what happened and describe how scary it was.  He is upstairs with my hubby at 10:30pm because he is too scared to sleep.  Totally understandable after the day he had.

If I had decided to go sit down on one of the chairs 10 feet away I might have not heard him, I would not have checked to see what was going on… and who knows if another kid would have.  Since instead of yelling for help they pulled on his leg to just pull the rope even tighter.

He is okay, his neck has rope burn.  My shoulder has gotten so sore that I can barely move my arm, but that doesn’t matter.  He is alive, at this time that is all that matters.

I am so thankful for Brian who rescued him, because no matter how hard I tried I didn’t have the strength.  The poor guy is still shaking himself.