How far would you go to save the life of your child? One mom literally threw herself under the wheels of her car. Mindy Tran had just backed into her driveway with her 2-year-olds buckled in, put the car in park, and got out to lock her door when she saw the car rolling down the sloped driveway toward the street. That's when instinct kicked in: "I had to use myself as a speed bump to slow it down enough for one of my neighbors to get in and completely stop the car."
She lay down on the driveway horizontally and let the car roll over her body, breaking a leg and dislocating a hip and a shoulder. But it worked! The car slowed down enough for a neighbor to jump behind the wheel and stop it. "My daughters are my everything, my everything," Tran later said. "And I don't want to see them in the hospital, and I knew at that time it was either mine or theirs."
Who knows if Tran's twins would have died in an accident. But even if that didn't happen, this mom knew it was highly likely that her babies would be hurt, and that was enough to make her act.
I think most of us feel the same way about our kids. We would do anything to save our children from physical pain, even take on that pain ourselves. I'm sure Tran's legs, hips, and shoulders hurt like hell, but with every ache, she's reminded of what her children are not suffering, thanks to her sacrifice.
Every day parents make sacrifices for our children, and we do it out of love. We know how far we would go. I think we admire Tran for her bravery and quick thinking. But we also recognize -- as parents, this is what happens when your parent instinct kicks in. It moves you to do the most extraordinary things sometimes.
ABC US News | ABC Business News
Have you ever risked physical harm to protect your children?
Image via ABC News