Miracle baby returns home after her father ran her over
Published: September 13, 2006
Chad Bradford had the weight of the world on his shoulders after accidentally driving over his one-year-old daughter in the family’s driveway.
But he’s breathing much easier since Emma returned home to Parksville from B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver earlier this week.
“It’s a tremendous weight off my shoulders,” Bradford said. “She’s recovering perfectly. She’s our miracle baby.”
He and his wife Michelle spent last week in Vancouver sleeping next to Emma, who suffered two hairline fractures on the back of her head and one on her cheekbone. Since returning to her home on Forsyth Avenue, she has been getting plenty of rest, according to the family.
The Bradfords moved to their new neighbourhood four months ago and were married on Sept. 2, just three days before the accident.
Chad was getting ready for his first day back to work when his wife ran out to quickly say goodbye. When he pulled away, neither had noticed their daughter Emma had crawled out of the house and under his truck.
“It happened in seconds,” Chad said. “Emma snuck out behind [Michelle] and we didn’t see her. I’m not going to even explain what I was thinking at the time — you can just imagine.”
Chad rode with his daughter in the ambulance to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Then they were flown to Vancouver.
He expected the worst and got what he calls a “miracle.”
His daughter is healthy. But he could never have anticipated getting help from complete strangers. When Chad came home early to prepare for Emma’s return, he found tremendous support from several of his new neighbours.
“When my wife and Emma pulled in, our neighbours pulled in behind with a van full of stuff: food, clothes, cash, toothpaste, cards, lots of stuff,” he said. “It’s overwhelming.”
Nora Henry, Emma’s great-grandmother, went straight to the family’s home after the accident. She also felt the generous hands of the neighbours.
“They all rallied around me,” she said. “If it wasn’t for those people I don’t know what I would have done. It was just so nice to have them all there.”
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