Parenting Influencer Kelly Hopton-Jones Says She Accidentally Ran Over Her Toddler Son
Kelly Hopton-Jones is speaking out.
The 36-year-old parenting influencer, who is the mother to two children, addressed a horrible situation on Instagram on Wednesday (April 15) after accidentally running over her 23-month-old son, Henry.
“Today has been the worst day of our lives,” she began.
“Life can change in the literal blink of an eye.”
Keep reading to find out more…
“A true nightmare for a parent happened to us today. It started like any normal day. I was taking Lily to get donuts before her dance performance,” she wrote, referring to her 4-year-old daughter.
“Brian was staying home with Henry and was going to meet us there,” she continued, referring to her husband and son. “He helped Lily into the car and was waving goodbye between our car and Henry, who was in the garage.”
“In a matter of seconds, our son was run over by our car. I was driving,” she wrote.
“Our neighbors stepped in immediately and took Lily, and we rushed to the emergency room. X-rays of his legs, chest and neck are all normal. CT scans show no injury to his organs or spinal cord. Neurological exam has been reassuring with no signs of head injury or impairment.”
“He does have fractures to his pelvis that will take time to heal, as well as a few abrasions. What stays with me is the doctor saying ‘He is hurt, but this is something he can recover from.’ A true miracle. We are in shock. We are so sad. But we are so incredibly grateful. We keep replaying it, trying to understand how this could have happened when we were right there. I don’t have that answer,” she continued.
“But I do know this has changed us. Non negotiable to hold or hold hands with young children around vehicles. Do not assume they know or will stay where you last saw them. Even when you are not distracted. Even when you are not rushing. It can still happen in the blink of an eye. We are holding him a little tighter tonight,” she concluded, along with a photo of their son in a hospital bed.
“I can’t even let my brain fully go to how different this situation could be right now. It’s so easy to start questioning everything. If the morning had looked different. If B had gone to work like he normally would have, both kids would have been safely in their car seats,” she captioned the post.
“Why weren’t we holding him. Why didn’t I double check before pulling out. We could drive ourselves crazy with the what ifs, and honestly, we are a little bit. But accidents happen.”
“And I keep coming back to what I would tell my own kids one day if this happened to them. It would be a lot kinder than the things we’re telling ourselves right now. Accidents happen, and the only mistakes are the ones we don’t learn from. We’re on the lucky side of a very tragic accident,” she concluded.
“Peds NP & mama of two. Baby and toddlerhood is kinda my thing. Sharing what’s in my brain at the moment,” her bio reads on her account, which has over 60,000 followers.
On the family’s website, a bio reads: “It all started with us- Brian and Kelly. We bought an 1860 stone farmhouse on Hillside Avenue in my hometown, naming it Hillside Farmhouse. We renovated that old house for years while navigating infertility. I wrote a children’s theme book called Someday during that journey for us, to help provide some peace in the season of wait. We welcomed out sweetest Someday years later, and followed our hearts back to Brian’s hometown in Texas. We bought at 1970’s fixer upper, sight unseen, that we renovated enough to get to a stopping point. We still love home renovation and design, but currently in a phase of contentment until we have time and money to tackle more projects. Soon after our daughter turned one, we found out about our happy little surprise after navigating infertility previously. – Kelly, Brian, Lillian, & Henry
See the full post above.