We all have it. We've all been there. The "Breaking Point." That moment in a situation when you cannot take it anymore & something snaps. Some are better than others at handling it, some...not so much. Some people have short fuses while others seem to have the never ending fuse. But that moment in time still happens. Its a part of our sinful human nature. Some people yell, others cry. Some people run to others while some go off on their own. Some people hurt themselves, while others....hurt....helpless....innocent....perfect....babies.
I'm holding back the tears while writing this. Its something so deeply a part of my heart that I cannot...no, I REFUSE to hold it in anymore. Something HAS to be done. There are far too many news articles telling of a death of an innocent child due to "blunt force trama" or some other awful wording.
The National Child Abuse & Neglect Data System (NCANDS) says "based on the data received, a nationally estimated 1,770 children died from abuse & neglect in 2008." ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! "The number & rate of fatalities have been increasing in the past 5 years." SOMEBODY RIP MY HEART OUT! "46.2 percent of child fatalities were younger than 1 year..." OK...NOW I'M....I'M...UGH!!! I don't think there is a word that describes the amount of hurt & anger I am feeling right now!
www.everychildmatters.org says "According to the report, nearly five children die in America every day from abuse or neglect. In fact, federal data show that 10,440 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect between 2001 and 2007, but experts say the real number may be as many as 5,000 higher." I need a punching bag right now....
Now this may come as a shocker to some of you - the highest percentage of child fatalities goes to........which race do you think it is???? Please, take a wild guess.
WHITE/CAUCASION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you surprised?? Is your jaw on the floor? Why should you be surprised?? White people sin too! Did you know that?!?! At a 39.2% white people ring in with the highest percentage of child fatalities - next in line is African American with 29.1%, Hispanic comes in 3rd at a 17.0%, unknown race is at 11.2% & you cap it off with 3.6% for everything else including mixed race.
Are you angry yet? Seriously, as I've written this blog, so far I've gone through so many emotions I've lost track.
Ok...so, I get that rallies have been done & organizations have formed & politicians have spoke about, and on and on and on. But what can I do?? WHAT CAN I DO?!?! Educating young parents is one thing, giving them brochures & articles about parenting, yeah, okay - that's all fabulous. But, someone please tell me what happens when these parents go home with their newborn child and cannot take the sleepless nights, the crying that happens & you can't stop it, more sleepless nights, exhaustion, more crying & nothing you do stops it, and all you want is to get some sleep, then more crying....and then it happens....THE...BREAKING....POINT. Then its too late - the child has lost his or her life because that person who is supposed to protect & care for him or her met The Breaking Point.
What if....
What if....
What if....
What if that person had someone to call....someone who could be there in a matter of minutes no matter the hour? Someone who could say - put the child down in a safe place, go outside and wait for me to arrive....What if? What if.....?
I read an article today - 8/27/2010 - about a mom, 22 years old, who's baby, 2 month old innocent, perfect, helpless baby boy died of "multiple blunt-force traumatic injuries." This woman lives right down the street from me. RIGHT DOWN THE STREET! WHAT IF?!? What if I could have saved this child's life IF IF IF IF IF she could have called me before she met The Breaking Point? IF IF IF IF I could have been there within 3 minutes!! What if........would this baby still be alive? What if......
Somebody - anybody - email me. I can't take this anymore, something has to be done. I want to start a movement - I want to start a revival - I want to start ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP THESE YOUNG INNOCENT BABIES! I have my idea on how I can help but I can't do it alone....if you are interested please contact me. If you have any type of know-how on how to do something like this please contact me. No more.....It stops now....join me, please, I can't do it on my own.
It happened during bath time July 28th - Declan's first really big boo boo :( He's had his scrapes & bruises, nothing that has ever needed a band-aid (amazingly enough). This was way worse than anything we have ever seen him do.
Bath time with Declan & Averley - Declan is in the back of the tub, standing up, pouring water on himself & Averley (he thinks its hilarious). I leave while Ryan takes over & I hear a thud...a squeal, then silence as Declan holds his breath in because he is in so much pain and has no idea what the heck just happened....that silence before the scream. Breathe Declan, Breathe! SCREEEAAAMM!!!! He was NOT happy - and rightly so, I mean, he just busted his face on the hard bathtub! I run in there, thinking he must have just fallen and scared himself - it was way worse. He sees me "Oh its mom, mom makes everything feel better, I WANT MOM!" All he really said was, "Ma" and reached for me but we all know he was thinking it. His gash looks pretty bad - Ryan & I both agree he needs to be taken somewhere to see if he needs stitches.
I get Declan put together - diaper & clothes put on while Ryan calls the on-call doctor - it was around 7pm. Oh CRAP! Averley is still in the bath...alone. Dear Lord please tell me she is safe. RYAN! Averley is still in the bath!!! He gets her out, we switch kids - he heads to Immediate Care with Declan.
Not even a mile away from our house....sirens. Ryan's getting pulled over for...you guessed it...SPEEDING! Well, DUH! Declan is in the back still crying with blood on his face. Mr. Officer "Take my time" finally arrives to Ryan's window despite him waving the officer up there to get him to come quicker. They exchange words, the story, where he was headed and the officer follows him into the parking lot to make sure that is where he was going. As if the gash & crying toddler wasn't enough proof!
Immediate Care - here's my son, this is what happened, here's the insurance card. "We don't take your insurance so we can't see your son." ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!? My goodness - this night is just getting better! Off to the hospital they go!
They arrive at Hancock Memorial Hospital - check in and do what everybody else is doing - sit & wait. Its 7:30pm - Declan normally goes to bed at 8pm so its already getting close to his bed time. Not to mention he has a gash on his forehead! They give Ryan an ice pack - because a 2 year old TOTALLY wants ice cold anything on his face. Sure...thanks.
Fast forward to 9:30pm - they still have not been seen by a doctor. Declan is tired, his gash stopped bleeding so Ryan heads home. We figured we would call the doc in the morning and see what he says. I ended up taking him up to the office where Ryan works so the docs there could check him out. They said it looked great, was starting to heal and didn't need any stitches.
That was a crazy day!
