Minnesota family shares window safety reminder for holiday getaways
In 2011, Ava Ramirez (right) fell from a second-story window at a resort when she was two years old after leaning on a window screen. (Ramirez Family)
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - As many families pack up for Fourth of July getaways, a South St. Paul family is sharing a safety reminder to help prevent children from falling out of windows while staying at an unfamiliar place, like a vacation home or resort.
"We went in there and they said Ava wouldn’t wake up because she’s in her coma," said Megan Ramirez, Ava’s mother.
Ten years later, the tears came flooding back as Megan Ramirez recalled the day her two-year-old daughter Ava was airlifted to Gillette Children’s Hospital. She had fallen out a second-floor screen window while at a resort in Hinckley with grandma.
"As I was peeling the apple, she pulled up the chair to look at the other kids swimming in the indoor pool and the screen just popped out," said Joni Sura Ramirez, Ava’s grandmother. "And she fell two stories and we looked over and she was just basically laying there splattered."
Hitting the cement pool deck below caused a traumatic brain injury and a hole in her head the size of a golf ball. Ava spent about a month at Gillette. Now at 12 years old, she still has some lasting impacts including trouble with fine motor skills in her right hand.
"I’ve heard like stories, so it feels like I remember, but I don’t remember it," said Ava.
Dr. Mark Gormley recalls doing rehab with Ava all those years ago. He says on average Gillette treats about three children every year, who have fallen out of windows from the second stories or higher. As families venture away from home, he advises families to keep safety top of mind.
"When you are in a different environment that set up is going to be different, so windows and everything else," said Dr. Gormley. "One of the things you see beds pushed up against windows quite a bit. They’ll lean on that and fall out. We’ve seen that on several occasions as well."
Ava’s family knows she is lucky her injuries didn’t impact her life far worse. While accidents happen, they hope her story will serve as a safety reminder for someone else.
"When she was getting a little bit older and someone would ask her about it," said Joni. "She would say, ‘Yeah I fell out a window and God catched me.’ She knows she’s a miracle for sure."