A North Vancouver father is urging other parents to install window blockers.
On April 10, his four-year-old son Oliver tumbled from his bedroom window, landing five metres (17 feet) below on concrete.
WATCH: (Aired July 18, 2013) Childproofing your windows
Michael, a nurse and father of three, says Oliver was in a coma for five days and may have permanent damage to his vision.
“I sprinted through the house and found my son on the concrete screaming incoherently and with an obvious deformity and head injuries,” he said.
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“I’m hoping that by sharing Oliver’s story, if we can save just one family from going through what we’ve gone through, it will make it all worth it.”
Oliver is the sixth child to be treated for a fall at BC Children’s Hospital in 2019. Last year, 15 kids fell from windows or balconies.
“If your child has fallen more than five feet, or 1.5 metres, they’ve fallen out of a window above the ground floor… especially if they’re having a headache, vomiting, acting abnormal or are losing consciousness… seek care immediately,” said BC Children’s Hospital trauma director Dr. Genevieve Ernst.
Monday morning Michael joined Ernst and other officials from BC Children’s Hospital and BC Emergency Health Services to encourage parents to childproof their homes by installing window blockers, which cost less than $5.
They also noted that windows should never be open more than 10 centimetres or four inches.
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