With April being National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month, I wanted to do something.  Something important.  

Meet Camrey.  Camrey is a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome.  I don't want to list statistics or facts and figures.  No.  This is more personal than that.  I invited Camrey to come to the studio for a photo session and another way to share her story.  Hopefully we have an audience in my small corner of the world wide web.  Maybe if our voices are heard, we can make a difference.

Here is her story, as told by her mother, Rebecca Green:

"My five year old daughter is a Shaken Baby Survivor.  This happened when see was three months old while at the babysitter's home.  She was unresponsive and suffered bi-retinal hemorrhaging and swelling and subdural hemorrhaging along with seizures.  She had extensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy for nearly three years.  She used three stages of leg braces and wore corrective shoes.  She had to train the left side of her body to work parallel with her right side.  She was introduced to dance to keep her physical therapy going and recently started violin lessons to further stimulate her brain.  

Today she is a very smart, vibrant, happy child that knows no boundaries!  We were once told she may need special education but Camrey exceeded that dream and now is in kindergarten with her peers!  Our neurologist says there can still be some future brain issues and seizures, but for now she has only been left with some minor issues and an amazing fight story.  She has been in two Shaken Baby films, on the cover of a magazine and has spoken at the Children’s Hospital Radiothon the last four years.  She has personally raised money for the Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Miracle Network.

Unfortunately, justice was never fully served,  but we are blessed to have the outcome we do for Camrey!  We have been given the opportunity to have a voice for innocent children and help bring awareness to others!  Camrey says she wants to be a dancer, violin teacher or a doctor when she grows up and I have no doubt that she could accomplish that!"

This cause is extremely personal to me.  Meet Colin, my first born son.  Colin was shaken by his babysitter and passed away in 2003 at 13-months-old.  While it is difficult for me to say much more than that, I want it to be shown how devastating shaking a baby can be.   Never, ever shake a baby.

Colin Michael

September 24, 2002 - October 30, 2003