photo courtesy of ksl.com
See this beautiful little girl?
Her name is HaLee and she is in Primary Children’s Medical Center. She was LifeFlighted after her mom picked her up from the daycare provider, and soon learned their precious little girl was suffering from brain hemorrhaging and severe optical nerve damage.
All signs of Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Caused by the daycare provider.
HaLee is 14 months old and is in the process of relearning how to walk, as well as other motor skills. Originally, because of the swelling around the optic nerves, there was little hope for future eyesight, but luckily, as she continues to recover, there are signs that she will not end up blind.
Whenever I hear of careless acts of abuse or neglect elicited towards helpless, precious children, it’s difficult to contain my emotions or even sort them out.
Initially, my heart aches for the life-long effects on this child, the victim: not only the physical toll taken, but the emotional one as well, experiencing the anger and cruelty exhibited from one whom they thought could be trusted.
Hand in hand with those emotions are the pain and anguish I feel for the parents: the long term helplessness they feel watching as their child tries to recover from the injuries caused by an individual they felt would care for their little one in their absence.
And the emotion that needs the most controlling is that of anger, confusion, and frustration towards the abuser. How can a human being treat another human being in such a barbaric act? Why would a caretaker even lay a hand on an innocent child in their care? Why would someone consciously or subconsciously want to inflict pain on someone else – especially someone so innocent, helpless, and defenseless? I don’t feel their actions are justified in any way.
Sparing you my definition of, and feelings towards, these barbarians that abuse (OK – well, I guess I didn’t spare you completely), I’ll keep my focus on the reality of this poor little girl and her family.
My heart goes out to this family, little HaLee, and any other family/individual whose trust has been annihilated by someone in whom they originally felt protected.
I’m told there is a donation fund set up with Mountain America Credit Union, but am still waiting on more details. To read more about her story, visit ksl.com
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
oh poor baby
We know what happens to people who do this when they pass onto the next life. And I am honestly scared for them.
I KNOW….did you not want to cry when you heard this story??? And to think that this caretaker has hurt other small children. AUGH!!! Such a sad story.
And isn’t she just the cutest little thing???
I saw this on the news last night and can’t stop thinking about it! It truly makes me sick. That poor family…do they have a blog or anything where we can express our love and support?
I feel sick to my stomach about the whole thing. That poor baby! I just pray she will make a full recovery. My heart goes out to the family.
It may sound odd, but I have to say that I feel pity for the babysitter–to have committed such a horrible act.
Lindsay – Hopefully, the sitter has some sort of conscious and feels the guilt of what she has caused this family and poor little girl.
Heather – I wish I had more details. I’ve tried contacting KSL in different ways, but they don’t even have any information (as of yet). I only know there is a donation fund set up because of readers’ comments left on the article.
Vanessa – good point. That “knowledge” that they’ll be judged for their actions is the only thing that brings peace to my heart.
Sandra – I get emotional every time I look at that picture! And I don’t even know her! My heart just breaks for them!
I have no words for this kind of thing just tears and prayers.
Thank you for posting this. Working for DCFS, I saw some horrible abuse. So sad and preventable.
This really and truly makes me sick to my stomach. Though we all get frustrated with our children at times, only those with some serious issues could do this sort of thing to another human being, especially a helpless one. Like Vanessa, I don’t want to be around these people during judgement time, that’s for sure!
How awful. My heart goes out to this sweet little babe and her family.
Heartbreaking! Isn’t there something about a millstone as a “gift” for those who hurt our little ones?
That makes me want to cry. It’s very hard to look at and read. Everyday I am just so greatful I have a healthy boy. I’m so sorry for them.
This seriously brakes my heart. What a beautiful baby!
So sad. It scares me to think people who have done this before are still aloud to be in the care of children. I have a hard time as it is thinking of leaving my baby with a sitter or a daycare. Guess it pays to have background checks. This little girl and her parents will be in our prayers.
Weaping…& speechless. These things make the reality of our Savior’s agony & pain so much more vivid & real to me. Sending prayers…
This is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine finding my child like this. My heart goes out to this family! Poor sweet baby!
I wanted to share a technique I learned about in a Brain Injury course I attended several years ago that might be helpful. Many children have regained their eyesight through a simple method. Many times a day you take the child into a darkened room and shine a flashlight in their eyes for several minutes – on/off, on/off. It may take months to work, but this process can generally stimulate the optic nerve connection to regenerate. Kind of like stroke patients when they have them do exercises to regain the coordination in their damaged limbs. More details and some statistics are available at The Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential – IAHP.org. I hope your friend will find some info that will help this darling baby to regain what was so cruelly taken from her.