It was exactly 33 days after Jasmine’s bad fall while playing at the park. She accidentally slipped off the zipline and fell to the ground with her left elbow’s support which suffered a bone fracture. It took the doctors more than three hours in the surgery room and almost three and a half weeks in cast before Jasmine was able to move a little comfortable. The elbow felt a little locked as of now, still unable to stretch her left arm only up to a maximum of 8 to 7 o’clock position. Hopefully she will be able to move her arm normally without the need for physiotheraphy. We were told it may take some time and advised to do small exercises everyday.
This morning, after several weeks of encouraging them to go back to the park, I was able to finally persuade them to go out and visit. My intention is to make sure that she don’t feel any anxiety or fear of playing again. We tried to comfort her by saying that accidents do happen but can be minimized or avoided with a little wisdom and care.
We revisited the accident site to also check if there was a problem in the design of the playgroud or was there anything that needs to be avoided by parents. As things were happening so quickly on the day of the accident, I personally want to see it again to, sort-of, investigate. For the first time, I was able to ask Jasmine what really happened.
Jasmine shared that she was trying to ride on the zipline – a playing device that allows a person to slide down an inclined wire or rope (slightly abover her head in height). Since it was inclined, they needed to climb an elevated platform to ride the pole with a round rubberized seat. Jasmine said her one arm was holding the pole on the ramp while the other hand was holding the zip pole. While trying to position herself, she said the pole zipped down and she fell on the ground.
I noticed that while the pole is on the top most part, theres a pressure that automatically slips it down. I held it myself to try and yes, it slips down immediately (we have a video of it on our IG Reels), so you need to hold it well while positioning to sit on the rubber seat. That sudden pressure may have caught her by surprise, and while she’s not yet seated, the pole was automatically released zipping down… and that’s the time she fell. While checking the site, I felt even more grateful she didnt bumped her head on the steel ladder – the sudden release of the zip pole pushed her a few centimenters away from it. I initially felt the ground is a bit hard but it turned out a good rubberized surface. It’s just a bad fall and no one’s to be blamed.
Maybe the next time someone who’s unfamiliar of the zipline must be assisted by an adult. The sudden pressure of the zip pole to immediately go down could be a bit dangerous and that’s where an assistance is needed. Also, while on the ramp, they should take their time and not be in a hurry or even try to show off as this may case them accident to themselves or to others.
So while watching other kids playing on the same zipline, we reminded her to just take necessary care and if needed, to always call an adult assistance. Growing up, we still want her to enjoy playing at the park so we needed this day to make sure she feels reassured and confident again.
