A grandmother in Oklahoma is sharing a heartfelt warning to families after her 3-year-old grandson lost a finger in a tricycle accident.
“In a lot of ways, I blame myself,” Mandi Truman of Spencer told ABC affiliate KOCO, “but if I can help other families and other babies prevent this from happening, put me on blast.”
In a GoFundMe she launched to help her family, Truman explained that her grandson was pushing the tricycle forward when his hand became caught in the chain underneath.
“Out of fear, he yanked his hand back, and in that moment, his fingers were severely injured,” she wrote in the fundraiser description.
Truman said one of the boy’s fingers was fractured and required stitches, while another was “completely severed” and could not be saved. Doctors were able to reattach an additional finger.
She told KOCO she was sitting on the back porch with her son when the accident happened. Her son moved the tricycle just right to free the boy’s hand and prevent more damage.
“Had it not been for my son moving it just the right way and releasing him, he would have lost more,” she recalled.
The grandmother, a single mom raising two sons, said this was the second time in less than a month that her grandson had been hospitalized. “My heart is breaking because of the pain he’s endured,” she said.
“I am doing everything that I can to stay strong for my children and grandson, but I am at my end. I cannot work right now due to caring for him full-time and my bills are piling up,” Truman wrote in the GoFundMe.
She added that “every single dollar will go directly to keeping a roof over our heads, covering bills and making sure my grandson has what he needs during his recovery.”
