Dad Jokes and Serious Situations
This is a very serious situation, so I will start it off with a Dad joke; why did the singles bar stop calling 911 for medical emergencies? They kept getting a pair a medics. Sorry, not sorry. I have been with Ada County Paramedics for almost 35 years. So the worst call type we can go on is when a baby is not breathing, and I have responded to many of them. I remember a few of those calls where there was barely room for the baby in the crib because it was so full of stuffed animals and other toys, just a small spot in the corner of the crib for the baby. Another was a baby in a bassinet, with an adult-sized quilt folded over twice and stuffed around him. Another when Mom said, “She was sick, so I took her to bed with me.” We were too late and these babies were dead. I was suspicious at that time that these babies did die of an accident and not a mysterious syndrome. Years later, I heard of the ABCs of safe sleep; babies should be Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib. After what I had seen, and learning of a relatively simple way to save the lives of babies, I just knew I had to get involved.
This is when I found the wonderful people at Safe Start Infant and Child Health and Safety out of Coeur d’Alene; they are formerly Inland Northwest SIDS Foundation and still on FB under that name. They have been teaching and sharing safe infant sleep for many years and I have been teaching classes with them for about three years. I am pleased that they have allowed me to join their board of directors so hopefully, I can be an even greater help in getting the much-needed education about safe infant sleep to our babies’ parents and other caregivers.
So what did the sprinklers say when the water pressure came on? Hey, thanks for the heads up! I will be continuing to teach and be an advocate for safe infant sleep down South in the Treasure Valley, I just want those babies to have their shot at life, for the families to avoid the pain of losing a child, and so we don’t have to tell a parent their baby has died. In our classes we teach that 50% of the infant deaths happen in an adult bed; from what I have seen lately in our area, it is at least that. So just a heads up, put your baby Alone on its Back in a Crib and hopefully you won’t get a pair a medics coming to your home.
Bart Buckendorf
