As previously reported, Lindsay Dewey's youngest son, Reed, was fatally injured while she was preparing dinner only meters away.
The parenting and homemaking influencer from Idaho opened up to her heartbreak on Instagram, writing: “Last I saw him he was sitting near the kitchen by the pool table playing with magnatiles by himself."
"I never even saw him with a bowl… I never even heard him playing by/with the mirror. Until I heard it fall, and then within five seconds, I lifted it off of him," she added.
Reed is believed to have been tugging at a suction cup bowl stuck to a large freestanding mirror when the unanchored object toppled over, striking him.
Dewey said she immediately knew something was wrong. Her husband, Eric, was just three minutes away running errands and returned quickly. Paramedics arrived minutes later but the damage was already done.
The mirror struck the 22-month-old in “the most precise way,” fracturing his skull and causing a traumatic brain injury.
The Deweys rushed their son to the hospital, where doctors delivered the unthinkable news: Reed had been declared brain dead.
Despite their grief, the family made the decision to donate Reed’s organs. The influencer said that although her son never got his miracle, he was the "miracle" to five other children.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about the families who got the best call of their life, their answered prayer,” she penned. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand why our prayer wasn’t answered, but God knows all things. Even though this is not fair on every single level, we’re so proud of you baby.”
“All he knew was love, and all he gave was love,” she continued. “We were so lucky and blessed to have been given 22 sweet months of being his parents and protectors. The hallways were lined up with family, friends, and nurses, There to honour you.”
She added that a part of her will be missing until they are reunited. "I love you so much son..You got me through the darkest of times in my life this past year, and your legacy is going to live on as these other babies get to live their lives, whole and healthy," she concluded.
Dewey admitted the mirror had seemed too heavy for the children to move, so anchoring it hadn’t seemed urgent. That decision has since changed.
Now, she’s sharing their story to prevent other families from suffering the same fate. “We’re only sharing this because we don't want this happening to anybody. A few close people we’ve told literally started naming off items in their house that weren't anchored, and it hit home for them because they literally could have been in our situation.”
She acknowledged that not everyone may be kind in response. “We know we will be judged for this … but anyone who spreads misinformation or has anything negative to say will just be blocked,” she said.