A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about why I write. I shared with you some of the results of Mary’s story, our book Edges of Truth, and similar stories of innocent caregivers who are accused and convicted of abuse. A coalition of accused families has launched a petition to be presented to Congress asking for an objective evaluation of today’s medical guidelines for diagnosing child abuse. This is a beginning of challenging mistaken medical assumptions that has endangered innocent families for decades.
Less than two weeks later I have more news. On March 20 an article on shaken baby syndrome came out in the Washington Post. The author, Debbie Cenziper, has been in contact with us for about a year as she wrote this extensive article. While Mary’s case is not mentioned by name, Ms. Cenziper had interviews with Mary and her lawyer (the book’s co-author) Steve Brennecke and read many of the trial transcripts. This Washington Post article points out the dangerous practice of diagnosing shaken baby syndrome on the basis of three brain injuries alone. In Mary’s case, some doctors found these injuries in a baby who quit breathing while Mary cared for her. The doctors testified that Mary had to have shaken and possibly slammed the baby during the baby’s last 42 minutes with Mary. Many other innocent caregivers can tell a similar story. When medical experts found these injuries in a baby, they believed the last person with the baby had to have shaken it to death. This article challenges this assumption.
Mary’s case and our book are only a small part in the process of change, but all those parts put together are beginning to make a difference. Praise God, he can use the little things we do, in combination with the little things others do, to make great changes. With God’s help, our lives can make a difference.
[image courtesy of Andrejs-Pijass/Deposit Photos]