An “overprotective” mom has saved her son’s life from a dangerous car crash by doing “nagging” text messages to her husband after she spotted something not right in a photo of the kid.
Rebecca is a Registered Nurse at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and she was heading back to work as a nurse.
On July 14 following her maternity leave, Memphis mom Rebecca Tafaro Boyer told her husband David that she wanted “hourly updates and recaps” on how their 3-month-old baby William was handling his first day away from his mother.
Her husband, David, finds it “super annoying overprotective” mom behavior, but he duly accepted.
But now she believes if she hadn’t been so demanding the crash William and David were involved in could have had devastating consequences.
David sent the snap at 2.15pm along with a message which read: “Little man is out. We are running errands today.”
Rebecca, from Memphis, Texas, immediately replied concerned about how William’s seatbelt was positioned.
“The straps were too loose and the chest clip was way too low,” she said.
“And because I know my husband, I’m sure that he laughed at me and rolled his eyes before tightening the car seat and fixing the chest clip.”
Luckily, despite any perception of ‘nagging,’ he did, in fact, fix it, because minutes later, they had an accident.
‘At 2:30 my phone rang,’ Rebecca wrote. ‘My husband’s panicked voice came through the line, “Honey, we had a car wreck. We are fine, but the car is going to be totaled.”‘
They were just three miles from their home when they were involved in a collision with a woman who pulled into oncoming traffic.
“David just didn’t have enough time to stop – it could have happened to anyone,” Rebecca said.
“He slammed on the brakes at nearly 50 miles an hour before colliding with the front passenger side door of her SUV.”
David’s foot was broken in three places and some of his toes had been dislocated from the impact of the smash.
But when he turned around to check on his son, little William had slept through the whole thing as he was so well restrained in the car seat.
A relieved Rebecca said: “Even with the impact of the two cars, William only received a minor jolt, so insignificant that he was able to continue on with his nap, and then spend the next two hours flirting with nurses.”
William was taken to a hospital to be checked over and Rebecca has now shared her story to warn other parents.
“I am so thankful that my husband took the extra one minute that was necessary to put William in his car seat safely,” she said.
“I can’t even begin to imagine how different the outcome could have been.
“I truly believe that the reason my family is at home sitting on the couch with a pair of crutches instead of down at the hospital is that of my annoying nagging mom voice.
“Thanks to my husband – who has finally proven that yes indeed he is actually listening when I nag him!”
The couple’s insurance has also reimbursed them for the cost of a new car seat – despite William’s being in good condition.
And Rebecca added: “There are millions of people out there riding around with precious cargo who genuinely don’t know that their child could be in a compromising position.
“And if that were my child, I would want someone to clue me in!
“We did find out this week that the other driver did not have a driver’s license or car insurance. We are very blessed to have uninsured drivers coverage, and are trying to focus on our gratitude.”