Lauren's Story Cont.
I remember it just like it was yesterday. I took my daughter to the doctor because she had been vomiting, was having a hard time breathing, and was very lethargic and pale. What the doctors told me, after taking an x-ray of her chest, changed all of our lives forever. They informed us that she had 2 broken ribs and they wanted us to transport her to Boise immediately. It was there that we found out the full extent of her injuries. Not only did she have two broken ribs but she also had a subdural hematoma (bleeding on the brain), blood pooling in her spine, a fractured arm, and 200-300 hemorrhages in each eye. The doctors said her injuries were classic signs of shaken baby syndrome and they compared her injuries to being thrown from a two story building.
So there we were, holding our precious baby while she was in so much pain, and feeling so helpless because we could not take that pain away. Also, I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of guilt because I was the one who chose for this person to watch my daughter, and now look what this person has done to my little angel. My baby did not deserve to be abused and shaken, she did not do anything wrong, she was only 5 1/2 months old. How could someone take their frustrations out on an innocent, defenseless baby? All these thoughts haunted me as I sat in the hospital holding her in my arms not knowing if she was going to live or die. (Below are pictures of my husband and I comforting Lauren while in the hospital)
So there we were, holding our precious baby while she was in so much pain, and feeling so helpless because we could not take that pain away. Also, I remember feeling this overwhelming sense of guilt because I was the one who chose for this person to watch my daughter, and now look what this person has done to my little angel. My baby did not deserve to be abused and shaken, she did not do anything wrong, she was only 5 1/2 months old. How could someone take their frustrations out on an innocent, defenseless baby? All these thoughts haunted me as I sat in the hospital holding her in my arms not knowing if she was going to live or die. (Below are pictures of my husband and I comforting Lauren while in the hospital)
By the time they released us to take her home, the outlook was somewhat better. Her MRI came back showing that some of the blood in her brain and spine was breaking up and reabsorbing back into her body. Her color was better and she was able to keep some food down. After we got home, my daughter's life was consumed with numerous doctor visits, so many in fact that she would cry hysterically every time we would enter a doctor's office. We took her to an ophthalmologist, a neurologist, a physical therapist and even flew her to Portland, Oregon to see if an eye doctor there could vacuum out the blood behind her left eye because the blood was not breaking up on its own. She was sedated at least 10 different times for MRI scans. Before the scans, I was the one who had to hold her and wait for the medicine to kick in and then watch her lay limp in my arms so they could run her through the MRI machine. No mother should have to do that! Then in March of 2009 Lauren had eye surgery to correct the drifting in her left eye from the trauma of being shaken.
Today my daughter is four years old, and I am very fortunate that she is doing so well. She is one of the few babies that have been shaken and did not suffer severe consequences. She still wears an eye patch 2 hours every day to help strengthen her vision and she may have some developmental delays in the future from her brain injury but only time will tell. I thank God everyday for saving my little girl!! The strength my daughter had to pull through this is what inspires me to share her story and explain to people the dangers of shaking. If I can save one baby's life from sharing my daughter's story I will be happy!
Today my daughter is four years old, and I am very fortunate that she is doing so well. She is one of the few babies that have been shaken and did not suffer severe consequences. She still wears an eye patch 2 hours every day to help strengthen her vision and she may have some developmental delays in the future from her brain injury but only time will tell. I thank God everyday for saving my little girl!! The strength my daughter had to pull through this is what inspires me to share her story and explain to people the dangers of shaking. If I can save one baby's life from sharing my daughter's story I will be happy!