This little free library was created in memory of Camden Ellis, our little boy that lost his life to a dangerous product in June 2014. His death, however, is not his whole story. This library is a way to bring you a glimpse of his love of reading and his legacy of protecting others. His mom, the steward for this Little Free Library, Crystal Ellis, is a child safety advocate and certificated teacher librarian.
Camden James was a bright, caring light in the world of our family and everyone who had the chance to meet him. He was a quiet, curious child with a joy for learning and living. Camden liked to watch and help with his baby sister, born just three months before his second birthday.
On the morning of June 11th, 2014, just two days before his second birthday, Camden’s dad went to his room to wake him up for breakfast. Camden was usually up by 8:30, but with a new baby up all night, it wasn’t surprising that he may have been sleeping in. He had just graduated to a toddler bed and this was his second night sleeping there.
What Camden’s father, Charlie, found will live in our nightmares forever. The three drawer, 30 ¾” dresser had pinned Camden and cut off his oxygen. My husband screamed for me and as I ran into Camden’s room, I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing. My beautiful, blue-eyed baby boy was still. I began CPR while my husband called 911. The paramedics were able to restart his heart and he was eventually transported to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
For the next 4 days, as Camden lay in a coma, we prayed and cried and wondered how this had happened to our baby boy. We celebrated his second birthday, on June 13th, 2014, in the PICU, surrounded by balloons and cards and carefully wrapped presents that he would never be able to open. We made the heartbreaking decision to remove him from life support and release his organs to help others. The way the timeline worked out, we had to say goodbye on Father’s Day, June 15th, 2014. Our lives will never be the same.
What we came to find out was that his dresser, that we chose for its small size for easier access for our son to dress himself in, was poorly designed and easily tipped when the drawers were pulled out for use. We had never heard of people bolting dressers to the wall and I had never imagined that such a small piece of furniture would be dangerous. We had cabinet locks, baby gates, outlet covers, blind string covers, and safe door latches. No one had ever mentioned to us that we should bolt our furniture to the wall so it wouldn’t kill our son in a tip-over. We kept nothing on top of his dresser or above it. He was taller than this dresser. He was simply opening the drawer to get to his clothing inside and this killed him. We did not hear the dresser fall, as his small body muffled the sounds. He could not scream or cry for help.
This is a problem with many dressers and wardrobes that has not been fixed by the furniture manufacturers. You cannot assume that your dresser is safe. You must do all you can to keep your child safe and attach your dresser to the wall. This CAN happen, and DOES happen, to one child every two weeks in the United States.
Note: After the Sturdy Act passed in both the US House and Senate, President Biden signed the bill into law in December 2022. With cooperation from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC) and the ASTM F15.42 committee, a new and mandatory standard for clothing storage units (dressers/armoires/etc) went into effect September 1st, 2023. All units manufactured from that date forward must meet the new, safer standard. Please note that any furniture already in stores or in the secondhand marketplace are exempt from meeting this standard. Please investigate and ask about manufacture date before your new purchases. We also continue to advocate for anchoring. You can learn more about anchoring at Anchorit.gov. Learn more about furniture tip-overs at Parents Against Tip-overs (PAT). Kids In Danger is also an amazing safety resource. Please visit them at kidsindanger.org
Camden's Little Free Library 