Title: Lawn Mower Injury (ER)
Producer: Emily Halevy
Feed: CWKN #384, May 7, 2008
Time: 1:40
SUGGESTED LEAD:  IT’S SEEM PRETTY HARMLESS, CRANKING UP THE LAWN MOWER ON THE WEEKEND AND CUTTING THE GRASS … BUT EACH YEAR NEARLY 80 THOUSAND PEOPLE END UP IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM BECAUSE OF LAWN MOWER ACCIDENTS … INCLUDING 10 THOUSAND CHILDREN.  FROM THE E-R, CONNECT WITH KIDS HAS THE STORY.
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NATS: hands boy toy (:00)
“Here you go.”
   
NARR: THREE-YEAR-OLD AUSTIN RATZLAFF DESERVES TO BE SPOILED A LITTLE … AFTER ALL HE’S BEEN THROUGH. (:05)

NATS: nurse (:09)
”He’s been a real trooper.”
   
NARR: HIS MOTHER WAS CUTTING THE GRASS ON A RIDING LAWNMOWER.

SHE DIDN’T SEE HIM … WHEN HE RAN UP TO HER, RIGHT BEHIND THE LAWNMOWER, AS SHE WAS BACKING UP. (:08)

NATS: mother (:19)
“So I turned all the way around and looked between the wheels and he was laying there.”

SOT: Timothy Kane, M.D., Surgeon (:23)
“It was a parent’s nightmare. And he had significant … a significant amount of damage to his entire body. Where usually you’ll see an extremity injury: a foot, a hand – he almost, you know, involved … he involved several organ systems.”

NATS: mother (:41)
“They had to give him a blood transfusion as soon as we got there. They said 5 more minutes and he could’ve bled to death.”

NATS: mom shows belly (:46)
“Right here on his belly this is where the blades cut- it’s okay pumpkin.  That’s where the blades cut, the blades cut right there.  And he’s got another cut down through here.”
    
NARR: THE BLADES CUT OFF AUSTIN’S RIGHT FOOT.  HE WILL NEED TO UNDERGO SEVERAL SURGERIES, AND THEN HE WILL GET A PROSTHETIC FOOT… (:07)

NATS: doctor to mom (1:05)
“He’ll be out … able to outrun everybody in the class. That’ what I would bet … he’ll be jumping along.”

NATS: mom to doctor  (1:15)
“Yep. They told me 2 to 3 months, he’ll be walking again.”

NARR: THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS RECOMMENDS THAT CHILDREN STAY INDOORS WHEN SOMEONE’S MOWING THE GRASS…

AND THAT KIDS NOT BE ALLOWED ON A RIDING LAWN MOWER. NOT EVEN TO SIT IN MOM OR DAD’S LAP.  IT’S JUST TOO DANGEROUS. (:13)

NATS: mom (1:29)
“You gotta watch them every minute. You can’t turn your back or, or take them for granted or just think they’re gonna be somewhere they’re not.”

NARR: I’M COLLIN SIEDOR FOR CONNECT WITH KIDS. (:03)

SUGGESTED TAG:   FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS AND OTHER STORIES LOG ONTO WWW.CONNECTWITHKIDS.COM.