Jonathan takes an Infants and Toddlers class up here on campus. When he first told me he was going to take it, I was ever so excited and thrilled for him to do it. Not because I felt he didn't know much about babies or anything, but I felt that as Lydia's mom, I always had to know the bulk of the information about babies. Having him take a class about babies and children would give him more of an idea on the little things he'd need to know, just in case anything ever went wrong at home. To me, this relieves a bit of the pressure of having to know it all and always worrying if he might do something that shouldn't be done.. like.. give honey to a baby. Stuff like that..
This class isn't required; he just took it because he needed one more credit. As such, he is always coming home to share with me the interesting things he learned, whether it be the Family Home Evening lessons the class made, or different articles about the safety of babies.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly enjoying my morning when Jonathan came home and started telling me a story about what he had learned from class. A true story about the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Ugh!
This will be what I remember from Jonathan's story, as he recalled it from class. Hopefully I can get the story straight.
He said in the video there was a mom and dad and a 14 month old baby boy. The parents were separated, and just before Christmas, the mom decided to drop the boy off at his dad's house a few days earlier than expected, around the 18th. Later that night, 911 was called because the baby was blue and not breathing. After the boy died, the doctors did an autopsy and wondered why there were bruises around his ribs and chest. He looked as though he had fallen from a 13 story building! So they told the police to do an investigation. At first, the father told the authorities they were both laying on the water bed, when the boy fell off and stopped breathing. Later, the dad confessed and told the story. While doing so, the cops had him return to the home and re-enact what he did to his son, to a doll.
After the boy had been brought to his dad's house, he had begun crying and the dad couldn't get him to stop. After a while, the dad ended up picking him up and SHOOK him for 2 whole minutes straight (while probably yelling at him to stop). He then punched him twice in the chest and shook him some more. Then, he THREW him on the ground! (Oh my goodness, by this point I was crying when Jonathan was telling the story) It was then that he realized that the boy had turned blue and had very shallow breathing, and that's when he decided to call 911.
The mom was called by the hospital, telling her her son was in a very bad condition. When she got there he looked terrible. They did a CT scan of the baby and the left side of the brain was completely dead. A few days later, they did another, and the right side was gone. (Jonathan mentioned how the video showed pictures of the baby's body from the autopsy reports. I'm so glad I wasn't there for this. I'da been bawling!) They knew the baby wasn't going to make it, so the mom's last requests were for the doctors to bring in a rocking chair, so that she and all her relatives (minus the dad) could rock her baby to sleep..
After the mom rocked him to sleep, they decided to take him off life support. He died Christmas Eve! They ended up having a funeral, and the dad went to prison.
What baffled everyone - the lawyers and judges- was that this father had no criminal history, whatsoever. He was a normal guy, a very nice husband, who never hurt anyone. And one day, he just snapped. Jonathan said in his testimony, you could see him sincerely crying, saying that because that one moment, that time he snapped, it had changed his life forever. He killed his son. And now he has to spend the rest of his life in jail knowing, remembering, that he did. He said that if he could change it so that his son could live, and he would die, he would do it in an instant.
I'm pretty sure I looked like a HOT MESS after Jonathan told me this story.
Sooooooo.... why am I telling you this???
I have a lot of friends who are new parents. Parents, I just want you to be careful. I had no idea that the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome could go past a certain age. Obviously, other things played into part - punching and throwing the baby down - but I didn't know that SBS could still happen up past a year old. I find I am learning new things all the time. I guess, I want to raise an awareness. Please, pleeeaaase, please be careful! I think why I was so upset at this story, was because I hate it when adults exercise their "authority" or whatever you'd like to call it, to hurt little, helpless, innocent, children. They are using their agency to control another. It's one thing if you hurt yourself intentionally, but I hate it when a big person hurts a little person. It shatters my heart.
Here are some things to do to prevent SBS/child abuse:
This class isn't required; he just took it because he needed one more credit. As such, he is always coming home to share with me the interesting things he learned, whether it be the Family Home Evening lessons the class made, or different articles about the safety of babies.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly enjoying my morning when Jonathan came home and started telling me a story about what he had learned from class. A true story about the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Ugh!
This will be what I remember from Jonathan's story, as he recalled it from class. Hopefully I can get the story straight.
He said in the video there was a mom and dad and a 14 month old baby boy. The parents were separated, and just before Christmas, the mom decided to drop the boy off at his dad's house a few days earlier than expected, around the 18th. Later that night, 911 was called because the baby was blue and not breathing. After the boy died, the doctors did an autopsy and wondered why there were bruises around his ribs and chest. He looked as though he had fallen from a 13 story building! So they told the police to do an investigation. At first, the father told the authorities they were both laying on the water bed, when the boy fell off and stopped breathing. Later, the dad confessed and told the story. While doing so, the cops had him return to the home and re-enact what he did to his son, to a doll.
After the boy had been brought to his dad's house, he had begun crying and the dad couldn't get him to stop. After a while, the dad ended up picking him up and SHOOK him for 2 whole minutes straight (while probably yelling at him to stop). He then punched him twice in the chest and shook him some more. Then, he THREW him on the ground! (Oh my goodness, by this point I was crying when Jonathan was telling the story) It was then that he realized that the boy had turned blue and had very shallow breathing, and that's when he decided to call 911.
The mom was called by the hospital, telling her her son was in a very bad condition. When she got there he looked terrible. They did a CT scan of the baby and the left side of the brain was completely dead. A few days later, they did another, and the right side was gone. (Jonathan mentioned how the video showed pictures of the baby's body from the autopsy reports. I'm so glad I wasn't there for this. I'da been bawling!) They knew the baby wasn't going to make it, so the mom's last requests were for the doctors to bring in a rocking chair, so that she and all her relatives (minus the dad) could rock her baby to sleep..
...one.. last...time.
(I'm fighting back tears as I write this.. I can't even imagine the pain!)
After the mom rocked him to sleep, they decided to take him off life support. He died Christmas Eve! They ended up having a funeral, and the dad went to prison.
What baffled everyone - the lawyers and judges- was that this father had no criminal history, whatsoever. He was a normal guy, a very nice husband, who never hurt anyone. And one day, he just snapped. Jonathan said in his testimony, you could see him sincerely crying, saying that because that one moment, that time he snapped, it had changed his life forever. He killed his son. And now he has to spend the rest of his life in jail knowing, remembering, that he did. He said that if he could change it so that his son could live, and he would die, he would do it in an instant.
I'm pretty sure I looked like a HOT MESS after Jonathan told me this story.
Sooooooo.... why am I telling you this???
I have a lot of friends who are new parents. Parents, I just want you to be careful. I had no idea that the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome could go past a certain age. Obviously, other things played into part - punching and throwing the baby down - but I didn't know that SBS could still happen up past a year old. I find I am learning new things all the time. I guess, I want to raise an awareness. Please, pleeeaaase, please be careful! I think why I was so upset at this story, was because I hate it when adults exercise their "authority" or whatever you'd like to call it, to hurt little, helpless, innocent, children. They are using their agency to control another. It's one thing if you hurt yourself intentionally, but I hate it when a big person hurts a little person. It shatters my heart.
Here are some things to do to prevent SBS/child abuse:
- Never shake an infant or child.
- Avoid holding your infant during arguments.
- Avoid disciplining your child when you are angry.
- Hubbies or Wives, if you are running on your last thread, call your spouse.. or somebody!
- If you find yourself becoming increasingly short-tempered around your infant or child, take a break and ask a friend or family member for help. Step outside and get some fresh air.
- Report abuse to the local police or to your state's child protective services if you suspect that a child in your home or someone you know is a victim of child abuse.
- Support the passage of the shaken baby syndrome Prevention Act (S 1204, HR 2052) introduced last year by writing your
state senator and congressman.
(http://www.medicinenet.com/shaken_baby_syndrome/page3.htm#prevention)
Like that man, any one of us could snap. I rarely believe the statement by many who say, "I trust this person, he/she would never do that type of thing!" You never know when someone can change in an instant, especially under pressure. Just please, be careful.
Let us stay informed, so that all of us, and our loved ones, can enjoy all life has to offer.
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