First I will tell you that my daughter is an Angel. She is almost 5 years old and has been through more than most adults go through. Her name is BreAnna and she is a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome with a hard blow to head. The doctors said that her injuries were more severe than being in a car accident and the worst case they have ever had. That they get 6 to 7 cases a year of babies just being shaking. That was in 2006 at just one hospital. She was 16 months old when she suffered her injuries on March 22, 2006. She spent almost entire year of 2006 in the hospital and rehab. BreAnna was released on October 22, 2006 just four days before her 2 birthday. I also have a 7 year old boy who has been wonderful through this. When he comes around her she lights up like nothing is even wrong. He loves her so much and fully understands more than a young man should. When BreAnna was hurt she was away at her father’s house, in his care 3days prior to going to the ER. Knowing something was wrong with her he tied to cover it up by waiting to see if she would be ok. After splashing cold water on her trying to wake her up and several calls to his girlfriend he finally called his girlfriend to come home cause their was something wrong with BreAnna. She came home and found bre laying on the floor gasping for air and having violent seizures, she made him call 911. She was then rushed to the hospital then shipped to St. Louis MO at the Children’s hospital. Where I could not touch her or talk to her for so long. She could not have any stimulance so her brain would not swell anymore. The doctors told me she would be a vegitable and for 3 days they asked no they begged me to take her off life support. I could not do that, I couldn’t let her go. She remained in the Children’s hospital for two months with so many ups and downs, not knowing to know what was going to happen scared me. She was always so angry never understood why she couldn’t do what she did before.  Then they sent her to this rehab called Raken Jordan for another five months where they worked with her every day to try to get her strenght up to even stand in a stander with out being so mad she would have seizures.   BreAnna suffered alot of injuries causing her to loose the left side of her brain almost 70%.  She has a shunt, a bone flap remova, a feeding tube and at one time she had a trach. She has had so many surgeries I couldn’t tell you how many anymore. “The child Protection doctors said it was the worst case they have ever seen still to this date and did not make sense if he did not do it why did he try to cover it all up and wait so long to get her help”. When we went to court on Feb 8, 2008 the main dr who took care of her while she was STL said he was surprised that she has made it this far. She got her trach out in July 2007 and has made it through many surgeries. We have several more surgeries to go through. Bre has made it further than the Dr’s believed she would ever and they are still amazed with her and so am I and everyone who sees her. When you look at her she seems like she is perfect, like nothing is wrong but she knows it is when she trys to talk and can not get sounds out or when she sees her big brother playing and can not get up to chase him around. Every time I look at her I know she is a miracle, thank you God for your answered prayers. I believe slowly but surely she will regain more and more back.

March 22 will be the 4 year mark from her injury and her perpertrator was finally arressted in September of o7. YES..he has been released on bond the same day. We are waiting fora new trial date it has been post doned, I am sure it will be 6 months to a year before we start it. I know the law takes a long time to do what they need to do but come on 4 years. We need some prayers that he will not get away with this…that JUSTICE will be served for my daughter and every other child out their that is being abused. Why don’t we have stronger laws for our children? I hear things on the news all of the time that does not seem that important well not as important than all of our babies suffering. Then we do not do anything to protect them. What are we doing to our kids when we are raising them to think they that they can do such bad things and get away with it. I was raised to believe that certain people are here to help us and keep us safe. I tried to do things to help us but never got any help at all. When my daughter got hurt not a thing was on the news, papers..nothing. I had to call the Attorney General all the time to get them on the case. The place we lived at the time was Howell Co in Missouri and they don’t even think that “SBS” is a real thing. With all of the injuries that my daughter had, have and will continue to suffer from, how can you not believe it??? I don’t understand. I am pleading with you….PLEASE STOP THE ABUSE OF A CHILD AND DON’T SHAKE A CHILD. Do not settle for what one person says. You see a child getting hurt report it and if you have to keep doing it, do it. Lets not stand for this anymore. Those are our children they are hurting. Let people know about this tell all of your family and friends. I grew up not even knowing about it. I did not know that shaking a child caues more damages than you know. It doesn’t just hurt the child for the rest of their lifetime if they make it through it, but it affects the entire family. I never thought that when he got her for visitation that last time that I would never see her walking, talking or playing with her brother again. I do miss her so much and am very happy that I still have her but I do wish I had all of her back. I wanted so much more for her. I wanted to her to do so many things and have a family. Know they tell me that i am lucky to have her and that if she does not get sick and all of her medications work that she should live to her 20s but they do not know. I could never explain the way I felt when I got the call…I do know that NO child, sibling, grandparent or mother even a father that should EVER have to go through or see what I did. Then after fours years no justice for her or us. It is like they put it away because they now they all messed up. They should feel ashamed. They should of helped when they had the chance the many times I asked for it.
BreAnna is a beautiful young lady and what was done to her was then and still now just plum WRONG. Why do we let people get away with hurting our children? Is it because they have no rights, can’t stick up for them self or because they are innocent angels? Doesn’t make much sense to me that we can send some one to prison for selling drugs longer than we can for someone who basicaly kills a child. That could be phsicaly emotionaly or just takes have of there brain from them. Why is SBS not none to everyone, why do they think its fake or a stroke. WOW I really pray one day that our government would pass laws to protect them and not 7 page law about how its ok to kill someone on your property if you feel like your life is in danger. We can put the dealers away for years and years and then turn around a slap a person on the wrist for taking a childs life or making them completely handicapped for the rest of there life expectancy. Wait life expectancy that is murder to me. BreAnna’s dad got charged with first degree assualt with bodily harm and I can’t believe it he may get 10 to 30 years in prison. Why are we paying taxes for these people who hurt our children then to get out and act like it was no big deal and everyone forgets it.  i tried so many times to have the Divison of Family Services help me the plioce and no one did anything except investigate me every time. It doesn’t make sense to me that we would not have laws to protect our very own children who are going to be running this country some day. We let things go for so long like trials and justice they shouldn’t take that long to help the families heal and try ot move on with here lifes. William Brian Hawkins took my daughter that I gave birth to from me and i did get a beautiful little angel that I love more than any thing but if you actually took time to meet these kids whose life was taken you never would forget some of the things you seen. We need help our kids need help enough is enough start protecting the rights of our children. Give stronger sentences, when they get charged with somehting that involves children they should no longer be able to have children in ther care or be around them. I know its innocent til proven guilty but if they can do it once they can do it twice. Stand up for our children who will someday be standing up for you.

It has taken me a long time but I know I have to forgive him, but that does not mean that I don’t want him punished for what he has done to my little girl who used to call him dada. (SHE WAS YOUR LITTLE GIRL WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO HURT HER?)That does not mean I have to forget it or would ever beable too. I am sure I will never find any answers to what I want to know but at least I am getting BreAnna’s story out thier to the world. I pray that the all people who hurt children will all be punished and the victims will get justice. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND PLEASE PROTECT OUR CHILDREN If you want to know anything else about her story just ask. I will let you know as much as I know. If anything changes I will keep you updated. Thank you BreAnna’s Mom…Please help us protect our children and make stronger laws for them, I believe they deserve it I know BreAnna does.

Melissa Whitten
Missouri
myspace: justice4breanna@yahoo.com

If you want to try to help get laws changed email your story of a SBS victim  and a pic to http://www.myspace.com/mommyslilangelbrynden or just to let people know about this stroy pass it on PLEASE we could all use some help. Thank you very much