When Katelyn Walden received a call on Feb. 6, 2017, that her daughter had stopped breathing, her world completely changed.
Her youngest daughter, Madelyn Walden, had been the victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome, which occurs when an infant is shaken or thrown by an adult, something that kills one in four children that are victims. Now 5 years old, Madelyn is navigating her own way through life as she battles Cerebral Palsy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and a traumatic brain injury.
An unforgettable phone call
Katelyn remembers Feb. 6 like it was yesterday. Her phone rang that winter afternoon with any parent’s worst nightmare: a call from Madelyn’s biological father saying the baby had stopped breathing. Before calling 911, Katelyn called her mother, a retired nurse, who lived less than a minute away from where her baby lay unbreathing and unresponsive. Then Katelyn got in her car, driving as fast as she could.
“I remember just screaming, driving through town, and it’s like God parted the seas,” Katelyn said. “I don’t remember a car being in my way or anything, I just remember hanging my head out the window, praying that people would get out of my way because I couldn’t get there fast enough.”
Her mother arrived at the house before first responders could and began CPR on the unconscious baby as Katelyn rushed home from work. When Madelyn finally took her first breath from her grandmother’s CPR efforts, EMTs arrived and took over. When Katelyn arrived at home, the ambulance was already pulling away.
“I don’t know why, but my only impulse [was that I] put my car in park, and I got out of the car like I was going to go get in the ambulance,” she said. “I was so out of it, I just wasn’t making any sense of anything. One of the EMTs got out and drove me to the hospital because I was hysterical.”
It was one of the most terrifying moments in her life, but she says it was only just the beginning. From there she and her family were on their way to Atlanta to be with Madelyn as she received treatment at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA).
“We got to the hospital with my mom and everybody, and seeing Madelyn like that was torture,” she said. “But that was only just beginning.”
Staff at CHOA saw the signs of Shaken Baby Syndrome as they continued to treat Madelyn, who had fallen into a coma that would last for a month. The chances of her surviving, due to the severity of her injuries, were low. Katelyn was at a loss, trying to understand what had happened to her child. It wasn’t until four days after she had stopped breathing that they were able to get a confession from Madelyn’s biological father. He is now imprisoned on charges of cruelty to children and aggravated battery in Jackson County.
As Katelyn stayed by her daughter’s side through her coma and treatment, and later her diagnoses, she tried to keep things as normal as possible for Madelyn’s older sister, Anniston Walden, who was only five at the time.
Anniston, now 10 years old, is fiercely protective of her baby sister. She’s a talented softball player with an attitude and a sense of humor, and by all accounts, a strong girl. But talking about her sister’s time in the hospital still brings tears to her eyes.
Most days, Katelyn’s father took care of Anniston back in Habersham so she could continue to go to school and softball practice. But for the days where she had to be with her mom, the staff at CHOA and the Ronald McDonald House did their best to provide comfort to Anniston and Katelyn as they gave Madelyn their love and support to heal.
Anniston reflected on those happier memories, like the day trips they took and the stuffed elephant she received at CHOA that played her sister’s heartbeat and held a photo of the three of them together. She keeps those things close, even now.
Where they are now
Today, Madelyn functions at a 3 to 6-month-old level, which is what she functioned at when she was shaken. She has lost much of her vision, and her ability to speak, walk and eat. She uses a feeding tube and sees physical, occupational, vision and speech therapists on a regular basis. She uses a specialized wheelchair and requires around-the-clock care from her family, nurse and special education staff.
But while Madelyn overcomes the challenges of Cerebral Palsy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and a traumatic brain injury, her family is there with her to make her smile. She’s home with her happily blended family, where her mom and sisters adore her and her dad, who married Katelyn three years ago and adopted Madelyn, loves her like she’s his own daughter.
“The beauty of it is this is all she knows,” Katelyn says. “She knows nothing but being loved and being happy.”
Raising awareness
On the anniversary of Madelyn’s injuries, Katelyn is hoping she can help raise awareness in her community for the lifelong impacts of Shaken Baby Syndrome so that what happened to her daughter doesn’t have to happen to anyone else.
“If people could just realize, especially a baby at three months old, put them in the floor, put them in a crib and just walk away if you’re that frustrated,” Madelyn’s nurse, Kim Cantrell, says. “This didn’t have to be.”
Cantrell and Katelyn hope that Shaken Baby Syndrome becomes something people talk about more, whether that’s in high school health classes, or something nurses emphasize to new parents at hospitals.
“I would like for high school students, young parents, teens, babysitters [to be educated about Shaken Baby Syndrome],” Katelyn says. “Have that talk with your kids, parents can talk to their kids like, ‘Hey, you’re babysitting someone’s baby. Guess what? If you get ticked off and you happen to shake that child, this is what can happen.'”
She and her family took to the streets of Clarkesville this weekend, holding signs to tell the community about the severity of a form of child abuse not talked about as often as it should be.
“This precious girls’ journey has already been filled with so many highs and lows,” Katelyn wrote in a Facebook post about her efforts on Saturday. “I fulfilled my goal of raising awareness on this tough day – surrounded by those that I love so much. Shaken Baby Syndrome [has] taken so much from Madelyn, but God has still given us so much to be thankful for.”
