A mum has issued a warning to other parents after her daughter was tragically killed in an accident involving a chest of drawers toppling onto her.
Little Helena Cochrane was just two-and-a-half years old when she lost her life in the preventable tragedy in January.
When reaching for a toy on top of a chest of drawers – an antique that her family had owned for years, and which weighed an estimated 80lbs – the furniture tipped over and fell on her.
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Her devastated mum, Taryn Cochrane, 21, has shared her story in the hopes it will prevent other children from dying – warning parents of the need to fix heavy furniture to the walls.
In a post on social media which garnered 1.5 million views, Taryn wrote: “The way it happened has left me with so much guilt and shame.
“An antique dresser I’ve had in my home for years with no prior issue or cause of concern fell on her after she used the drawers as steps to get a toy I had put away on the top – resulting in immediate death.
“It happened so quickly and so silently, and our lives changed forever.”
Taryn, from Dentons, Texas, shared that the morning of 8 January started as any other – but became “any parent’s worst nightmare”.
She said: “The unimaginable happened.
“The guilt and shame has all but consumed me, knowing that if I had taken the precautions of anchoring this dresser, my baby would still be here and her sister would still have her best friend.”
Helena would have turned three this month, if not for the horrifying accident.
Her heartbroken mum is now determined to spread the message far and wide: secure your furniture.
“I made the decision [to share her story online] after her birthday passed and how excruciating the grief was for not only me, but my entire family,” Taryn told Need To Know.
“It was so intense, it moved me in the direction of ‘how can I prevent this happening to someone else’s child and their family so that no one has to feel the pain, guilt, and grief I feel on a day to day basis’.
“No parent should outlive their babies – especially not to preventable accidents.
“It was so unexpected and not something I would’ve ever thought about being a threat, because of how large and heavy that dresser was, as do many other parents.
“I wanted to share my pain in losing my daughter from a mistake I made so that others are more cautious and aware that this very tragedy is so real.
“Not only to me, but so many others that are silently struggling in their guilt.”
Following Helena’s death, Taryn researched online and was horrified to find other cases of preventable deaths like her daughter’s, caused by unfixed furniture.
She continued in the post: “The heartbreaking truth is that furniture tip overs are far more common than most people realize.
“Thousands of children are injured every year when dressers, shelves, or TVs fall over.
“It’s most common in children under the age of six.
“Most of the time it happens because a curious child tries to climb or pull themselves up.
“But it takes only a second for something heavy to fall, and the consequences can be devastating.
“I cannot express enough how important it is to secure every piece of furniture you can, especially dressers when child-proofing your home.
“Anchoring takes only a small amount of time but can make all the difference in the world.
“Keeping tempting items off high surfaces and checking the stability of older furniture can also help protect little ones.
“I share this with a heavy heart, but also with hope for friends of mine with children and all mothers to take this precaution seriously.
“If my story can help even one family avoid this kind of tragedy, then my daughter’s memory is protecting others in a way that truly matters.”
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