A mom has shared a heartbreaking warning to the public after she woke up to discover her young son had tragically died.
The mother's warning is advice to other parents about how to avoid the nightmare that she was forced to endure.
Keep scrolling to learn more.
It's every parents worst nightmare.
Having a child is something incredibly precious - but it's also a huge commitment that comes with countless problems and challenges.
And it can be very easy for things to go wrong.
But heartbreakingly, in this story, things went just about as tragic as they ever could.
She woke up to discover her son had passed away over night.
And the mom shared a warning online to help other parents avoid making her horrific mistake.
Jennifer Ranger began her post with a trigger warning.
She wrote:
My son would be 11. He would have celebrated his 11th birthday on July 1st. While the entire nation is celebrating, I'm silently grieving.
She recalled that dreadful night.
On October 16,2008, I put my 2 year old son to bed in his big boy bed which was pushed up against the wall, complete with a bed rail on the side open to the room. I tucked him in and said goodnight.
"I checked on him at 1 am and saw him sleeping soundly facing the bed rail but still in the middle of the bed. I went to sleep myself."
Jennifer continued:
A little after 8 am, I woke up and went downstairs. He wasn't stirring yet so I took the time to put the coffee on and go to the bathroom. I went into his room to wake him and he wasn't in his bed.
It was then that Jennifer made the tragic discovery.
As I looked for him, I quickly started to panic and then found him between his bed and his wall, with just his head above the mattress.
She pulled him out.
But that's when she discovered she was living every parents worst nightmare.
He died due to asphyxiation.
She explained:
My son had passed away at some time around 3 am due to positional asphyxiation. In layman terms, he became wedged between his bed and the wall and was unable to free himself.
Positional asphyxiation is a deadly condition.
According to Crisis Prevention, it's 'a deadly condition that can occur when a person being restrained can’t get enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen can lead to disturbances in the rhythm of the heart'.
Positional asphyxiation kills numerous children every year.
But the chances of it happening can be minimized by taking some very simple precautions.
Jennifer explained that she thought she had done everything correct.
But while she thought she had done everything to keep her child safe, there were still some simple precautions she could've took.
She wrote:
I thought I was doing everything I could to keep him safe between the baby monitor and the bed rail. Everyone I knew (my own parents included) had pushed their young children's beds up against the walls.
"I can still remember the stinging guilt that hit me when the coroner released the report."
My son's cause of death was 'positional asphyxiation secondary to unsafe sleeping arrangements'. Nearly 9 years later, those words still pierce my heart.
"If this saves just one child's life, I will be thankful."
Jennifer then gave out the advice which could've saved her child's life.
She wrote:
Please, make sure your young child's bed is at least 12 inches from other pieces of furniture or walls in their room. It may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it is the safest way.
He was only 2-years-old.
He was 2. He could climb stairs up and down, he could build towers out of blocks and chase birds and was learning to swim. You never think it can happen to your child.
Rest in peace Mason.
It must've been so tough for Jennifer but hopefully her story will inspire and influence other parents into taking those vital precautionary measures.
The post went very quickly viral.
And at the time of writing it has a huge 50,000 likes as well as another 93,000 shares.
Meaning that the post must've been seen by millions of people.
Which also means that Jennifer's heartbreaking words have definitely helped save the lives of many children.
Move Them For Mason.
That's what Jennifer's heartbreaking post finished with.
Hopefully this story sheds even more light on this cause of death which is so easily avoidable.