A B.C. father is speaking out about his two-year-old daughter’s “miracle” recovery after she fell 20 feet from the third-storey window of a townhouse earlier this week.
Taryn Lim was playing in their Langley home on Monday, grabbed the curtain and stepped over the baseboard heater, lost control and fell out the window, according to Sean Lim.
She suffered a broken leg and cracked jaw, and had two teeth removed, but had no spinal or brain injuries, he said Friday.
“We are lucky that our kid doesn’t have a permanent injury but a lot of this kind of incident can cause severe injury to the kids,” Lim warned.
“This is a terrifying incident and you don’t want to go through the same thing that I go through.”
Taryn lost consciousness for several minutes after the fall and was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital, where she spent three days in recovery.
Lim said her mother was home when Taryn and her four-year-old sister were playing and Taryn fell, but the family was unaware that the window had no lock, having just moved into the home from a condominium whose windows were locked.
“I urge people to go to the store or go online and buy a window lock. They are not expensive but they can save your kid’s life,” he said.
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“I don’t want any other kids from now on. (Taryn) is the 11th one; I don’t want to hear a 12th victim in this hospital again.”
BC Children’s Hospital has treated 11 children for window falls since the start of the year, according to pediatric surgeon and surgical trauma director Dr. Robert Baird. Some suffered injuries so severe, they will require life-long care.
Most children who fall through windows are between the ages of two and four, he explained. Toddlers, who are “top heavy” are particularly at risk, he added, and tend to fall forward.
“When you’re looking at your home, think (of) the environment through the eyes of a two- or three-year-old. Think of how they would explore, how they would climb,” he urged.
“Anything as innocuous as a plant or simple chair can be a climbing apparatus where a child can get to the top and fall forward.”
Window locks are available at most hardware stores for between $5 and $30 and prevent windows from opening at all or opening more than 10 centimetres.
“Screens are great at keeping bugs out, they are not great at keeping children in,” said Baird, advocating for the locks.
If a child does fall from a window, he said parents should call 911. Of particular concern, he added, is a child who is silent or unconsciousness after a fall, rather than crying.
Lim said he and wife purchased window locks right away after Taryn’s accident.
The girl, described as “cautious” and “shy” is now recovering well at home and expected to start preschool in the fall, he added.
Friends and family have drawn hearts, a bunny and smiley faces on her pink leg cast, along with the words, “Super Girl.”
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