What This Mom Did To Keep Her Child Alive After Car Crash Is A Testament To A Mother's Love

This hero mom did what she had to do to keep her daughter alive overnight in frigid temperatures.

When it’s posed as a terrifying hypothetical, we all say we would do anything to protect our children from harm. It’s instinctive to want to keep our kids safe and to that end, any good parent would risk life and limb to do it.

Fortunately, most of us won’t have a chance to prove it the way a Manitoba mom was forced to after a car crash stranded her overnight in freezing temperatures with her 4-year-old daughter in tow. If anyone fits the description of a “mama bear”, it would be this incredibly brave woman.

According to CBC News Manitoba, Kristen Hiebert’s car skidded off a rural road this past Sunday evening and landed in an embankment near a frozen river. Trapped in the crumpled car with night falling, Hiebert had no choice but to lay on top of 4-year-old daughter Avery to keep her warm until morning, when she planned to go for help.

As temperatures dropped to -13 degree Fahrenheit, Hiebert developed frost bite on her lower extremities and after rescue, it was discovered she’d broken both of her arms and cracked a rib as a result of the crash. Knowing she was in such pain makes what she did to protect her daughter even more incredible. Despite her own unimaginable discomfort, her sole priority was keeping her little girl warm and alive.

Once morning came, Hiebert left the vehicle with little Avery curled up inside to flag down help. She caught the eye of motorist Tina Dubyts around 7am and the mom and daughter were finally rescued. Dubyts went to the totaled vehicle and retrieved Avery, putting her in the backseat of her own car wrapped in a blanket.

By then, more people had stopped to help and Hiebert’s scary ordeal was over. Of the traumatized mom’s demeanor in those early morning hours, Dubyts says, “She was in shock. She was obviously frozen. She just kept talking about her daughter.”

Luckily, Avery was mostly unharmed save for frostbite on one foot and some scrapes. This is no doubt due to her mother keeping her warm with her own body while suffering from her injuries. Hiebert will have a long recovery ahead with future surgeries and both mom and daughter are currently at Health Sciences Centre hospital for the time being. A GoFundMe was started to help with their expenses and Hiebert is overwhelmed by the support being sent their way.

What is truly overwhelming is what lengths this mother went to save her little girl. Hiebert literally sacrificed her own well-being to ensure her daughters. All parents can relate to that desperation — wanting your child safe above all other things. Think of how many times you’ve watched your little one with a fever or stomach bug praying you could just trade places and take all of their pain away. Hiebert actually did it and made sure Avery was safe at any cost.

While inspiring, Hiebert’s actions aren’t surprising to most parents. Deserving of praise? Absolutely. But we all know where she’s coming from in wanting to save her baby, even if it meant dying herself. We send our best wishes to Kristen and Avery for a speedy recovery and kudos to all who came to their rescue that cold, dark morning.

H/T Yahoo News