My son Alex (age 11) and I went for lunch again, but this time it was at the food court. I try and make it a habit to get away with Alex for some grub and good conversation although I recognize that I really need to spend more one-on-one time with him. After we picked up our food and got settled, I noticed two other dads with their sons sitting in our vicinity. The two boys appeared to be the same age as Alex.

Alex and I are both movie buffs... actually, he more than I as I learn a lot from him. He aspires to be an actor, producer director someday! As Alex and I ate and chatted, I took a look at the other father-son couples seated in our vicinity. The father-son nearest to us were obviously into sports as they both wore sweatpants, a t-shirt and a ball cap and I could well imagine how their conversation went. My attention was captured with the father-son seated farthest from us as the boy was seated in a wheelchair and appeared to be permanently disabled. Working in injury prevention as I do and knowing the statistics, I couldn't help but think that this boy was an injury victim and that life in a wheelchair was something that he must become accustomed to for the rest of his life. While both father and son seemed to be very content, I couldn't help but think about the pain and suffering both the dad and the son went through, as well as the entire family unit. I couldn't help but imagine what the family would give just to have the clock turned back such that they wouldn't have to endure the challenges since the injury occurred and the agony of the path they will be travelling in the future.

Most of us take injury prevention for granted. Most of us do not hold injury prevention as a priority in our lives. With the scope of the unintentional injury epidemic in Saskatchewan, it appears that injury prevention is not held as a priority with much of our society.

The next time you question the importance of injury prevention in your day to day life, think about that father and son in the food court that I observed. Life is fragile. Don't take injury prevention for granted!