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by Danielle Ellison

My son Grayson was born on June 23, 2014. He came into the world happy, healthy, and beautiful. The summer went by fast and before I knew it my maternity leave was over and I had to return to work. With my son from my first marriage, and Grayson’s father had three children from his first marriage we had a total of 5 children. The oldest was 9 at the time, and Grayson was our youngest at 8 weeks old.

The presence of the violence Grayson was enduring arrived the day after my first shift back to work. I was changing his diaper and when I lifted his leg to slide the diaper underneath him he let out a blood curdling scream. I was startled, confused, and clearly concerned. There were no marks, no bruises, nothing. Grayson had an appointment already scheduled for the next day. The doctor did his two month well child exam and Grayson, he looked amazing. He was growing at a healthy rate, and despite his spit up problems, he was gaining weight well. I told her about his reaction to me grabbing his leg during the diaper change, and she examined him. Again, he let out a blood curdling scream when she moved his leg. My older son had just gotten over hand, foot, and mouth, and the doctor felt very confident that the reaction we were seeing was from joint pain caused by either Grayson fighting off hand foot and mouth, or caused by a growth spurt. We went home and the next day the doctor called to check on Grayson. His leg seemed a bit improved that day. They asked us if I wanted to bring him back in that day, and I decided to give it one more day to see if it was continuing to improve, and it did continue to improve. I still wonder how differently things may have gone had I taken him in that day.

I told her about his reaction to me grabbing his leg during the diaper change, and she examined him. Again, he let out a blood curdling scream when she moved his leg.

That following Saturday, Grayson’s father and I had plans to go to dinner. I returned home to the typical chaos and laughter of the 4 older children. It was then that Grayson’s father informed me that our son had only eaten about 3 to 4 ounces that day, he usually ate that in one feeding. I checked his temperature and it was normal. I tried several times to feed, only to be met with fussiness and refusal. I informed my mother of the trouble we were having feeding Grayson and let her know that if he still hadn’t eaten by the time we got back, I was going to call the doctor. When we returned from dinner Grayson still had not fed, and I spent the next two hours trying to get him to eat. I decided to take him to the emergency room. The doctors examined him. Yet again, he looked amazing. “He looks great, great color in his skin, very alert. Could be a result of the colic. Let’s try and get him to take some food here,” the doctor said. At that time, we believed colic was behind his occasional fussiness. After an hour we finally succeeded and Grayson slowly took 2 ounces. We were sent home with a handout on newborn feeding difficulties.

After that, feeding difficulties became a regular battle while I was gone, only vomiting soon began to accompany it. In the following three weeks we attended another doctor’s office visit and another trip to the emergency room. The final trip to the emergency room was prompted by vomiting, a low-grade fever, and what the doctors called a “full” fontanelle. They ran some blood tests on that visit, but didn’t feel any other tests were necessary. We were instructed to follow up with his pediatrician the next day. At this point, I was extremely concerned. Grayson vomited again that evening and again in the morning. When we arrive at the follow up appointment, I was terrified that the doctor was going to confirm my worst fear, that Grayson had meningitis. Given that he was extremely fussy, had the low-grade fever, was vomiting, and a slightly bulging fontanelle she did in fact recommend that we admit him to the hospital and do a spinal tap to check for meningitis. Panic set in. The thought of losing him devoured me in a matter of seconds.

When we arrived the first thing they did was take a blood sample for testing. After reviewing those test results the doctor decided to do an MRI before we continued with the spinal tap. It was this decision that finally unveiled the monster hiding in the shadows. The doctor brought me to her desk, and showed me the images they took of my infant son’s brain. A massive accumulation of blood was pressing on my 13-pound son’s brain, and it was only the beginning. We were transported to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital where we were met by about a dozen doctors as we were rushed into the pediatric intensive care unit. X-rays were ordered, and uncovered 10 bone fractures, all various stages of healing. My eyes zoomed in on the right femur fracture. My God, how did I miss that? Grayson had several more tests done, and after four days the doctors said the blood in his head and broken bones will heal on their own. With a full criminal investigation underway, and child protective services case opened, we were sent home. I took Grayson and my older son to my parents, while Grayson’s father and his three children remained at our home. We never returned to our house again. Three days after being released Grayson began having seizures. After another MRI they discovered that the bleed had evolved, and the seizures began to piggy back. One after another after another. We were again flown to Doernbecher where Grayson underwent brain surgery to remove the blood, and received a blood transfusion. That same day his father was arrested and charged with 12 counts of 1st Degree Assault.

It has been 14 months, and Grayson’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. His will to overcome and courage to survive has brought a new meaning to life for him, and for his family. I still look back on that month when Grayson was suffering in silence and wonder how a person could hurt someone so innocent and defenseless. I still ask myself what may have happened had I better known what to look for. It is something you never imagine happening to your children, and I wish I had had the knowledge I have now, then. We have been blessed with a miracle, and although Grayson’s future is unclear it appears promising. Thanks to a wide variety of resources made available to us, we have everything we need in place should any further hurdles present themselves. In the end, Grayson truly is a warrior and his gratitude can be seen in his smile, heard in his laughter, and felt by his heart.

It has been 14 months, and Grayson’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous. His will to overcome and courage to survive has brought a new meaning to life for him, and for his family.