Mum suffers extreme bruising after shielding her baby in Australian hailstorm

The mother has extensive bruising from protecting her child during the extreme hail.

A Queensland mother was driving home from Nanango to Kingaroy when a storm unexpectedly hit and threatened the safety of her baby girl. Fiona Simpson said that weather conditions were not bad when she departed and that it was not even raining, but halfway into the journey she was forced to pull over because conditions deteriorated.

Ferocious hail and flying debris at Gympie yesterday. Video: Andrew Brown. #qldstorm #tornado #7News pic.twitter.com/tEjpPMWbox

— 7 News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) October 11, 2018

Speaking to 7 News Brisbane, she explained that when it began to rain heavily, she pulled over as it wasn’t safe to continue driving. Not long after she did so, extreme hail began which blew in the back windows of her car, where her daughter was in her car seat. Ms Simpson described how she got out of the car and passed her daughter to her grandmother, who was in the front seat.

A brave Queensland mother was left battered and bruised by hail after she used her body to protect her baby at Kingaroy yesterday. Report on 7 News at 6pm. #qldstorm #7News pic.twitter.com/QH9JK5YPRg

— 7 News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) October 12, 2018

The front windows of the car then blew in and mum acted like a human shield to cover and protect her baby. When the hail subsided, she said “no one pulled over” so she was forced to drive to the top of the hill, to Lavender Farm, where her cries for help were answered. The ambulance was called and Ms Simpson reported that, bizarrely people kept coming over and taking pictures. She said that whilst everyone was panicking, she managed to remain calm – surely a mamas instinct? She performed first-aid on her grandmother before the ambulance arrived and said that the incident was on Facebook before she even got to the hospital. The brave mama reported to 7 News Brisbane that the bruising to her arms that she sustained during the hail storm was a "bit sore" but that all involved are alright now. She took to Facebook herself after the incident to warn people to "be careful in this storm season". The mum was praised in the comments of her post as a "brave", "amazing" and "selfless" mother. The unfortunate event just goes to prove that mums will do anything to protect their kids.