You awaken your spouse; the two of you dress hurriedly and head to the hospital. Upon arrival at the emergency room you are escorted to where your son is located. He is sleepy but has no visible injuries. After a couple of hours the physician comes in and tells you that he needs to be transferred to another hospital for more advanced testing. You accompany your son by ambulance to the new location, where you are taken directly to the emergency room.

The only information you have is that he has injuries to his back. After testing and hours of waiting, your worst nightmare comes true. The physicians tell you that your young vibrant son has a traumatic injury to his thoracic spinal vertebrae, causing paralyses from the abdomen down. In confusion you ask, "WHAT"? As more information is given you realize that your healthy young son will never be able to use his lower extremities (i.e. no walking, running, or the ability to have children). Your entire life has just been changed by one night of underage drinking.

What can parents, older siblings and friends of teens do to prevent this from becoming the story of their family?

Parents can:

    Talk and listen to your kids. Remind them of the consequences of underage drinking and give them reasons not to use alcohol.

    Know your kids' friends and their friends' parents. Be aware of who your kids are associating with.

     Talk with other parents and adults to make sure that alcohol is not available at events that your kids are attending.

     Store alcohol in your home under lock and key. Refuse to provide alcohol to underage youth in your home.

    Check your kids IDs. Fake identification is easily obtained.

Older siblings and friends (over 21 years) can:

    Talk to your younger siblings or friends about not drinking underage. Give them reasons why they shouldn't drink. Many youth look up to you.

    Refuse to purchase or supply underage drinkers with alcohol.

    Talk with parents and youth about underage drinking. Let children finish their own sentences. This allows a child to think at their own pace, and lets them know they are worthy of your time.

    DO NOT fall into the trap of trying to be the "cool" older sibling or friend. Youth can be mischievous especially when dealing with older brothers, sisters and friends.

These are some examples of how to limit youth's access to alcohol. The Cobb Underage Drinking Task Force is one program that addresses the recent surge of underage drinking. You may contact the Task Force or your local police or sheriff for more information about underage age drinking prevention. To report illegal sales of alcohol, call 1-877-CHECK ID or to report underage drinking parties call your local police or 770-499-4719. Remember: Teen Drinking Is Not a Rite of Passage. It's Illegal.

These are some examples of how to limit youth's access (This article was written by Ashley Davis, a Georgia Baptist Nursing Intern, currently working with the Adolescent Health and Youth Development program. She was on Emergency Room rotation when this incident happened. The article was written to hopefully save the lives of other young people.)