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long term effects for severely shaken babies?
i was a premature drug baby (2.5 pounds at birth) at five months old i was still smaller than a healthy newborn, and i was severely shaken by my biological father. my eyes got real screwed up, ive had three surgeries to fix them though one will eventually fail because it is not strong enough, all the muscles and what not that attatch my eyes to my socket were torn when i was shaken. not so cool.... i suffered a subdural hematoma, which nearly killed me, if it werent for my foster family(which is now the only family i know, and are my adoptive parents) i would be dead.my brain was bleeding for about a month and a half before she really noticed soemthing was seriously wrong with me and took me back tot he hospital early, and demanded the doc take a look, took a while but the doctor finally cam in, and i was then rushed three hours away to Doernbeckers childrens hospital in portland, oregon. the doctor there said that the pressure around my brain would ahve killed me within 24-48 hours. i have scars and dents on my head where they drilled four holes to drain and relieve the pressure. i have some pretty aggravating back problems (abnormality in the middle of my back around where i was held during shaking, rotoscoliosis, and spina bifida_ i know spina bifida is a birth defect, and that scoliosis is usually hereditary, but is there any chance it and the abnormality may have been caused my the trauma to my spine? on the xrays of my back scars are visible on my ribs, and i have a scar on my ribs where my biological fathers thumbnail dug into my skin. i can not find a single thing on the long term effects shaken babies have. i know i would sure as hell like to know, seeing as i have that to look forward to in my future... can anyone tell me anything? or lead me in the right direction for some solid information? i am 20 years old now, and am a lucky one. i do have some memory problems, but other than that i dont know of anything else that is connected with shaken baby syndrome. i dont know.. i just wish i knew more about what to expect in the years to come.. by the way, i was shaken to the point of becoming unconscious and then thrown back into my crib (as my bio. father confessed) he said that he had shaken me multiple times that day, because i kept crying (pitiful excuse, this should never happen to anyone...)
Public Comments
- I am very sorry for all that you have gone through. I hope you have received therapy to help you through all of it, it's too much for one to handle all on their own! Maybe you can get answers at these websites, or by emailing links listed on the pages - http://www.dontshake.org/ http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shakenbaby/shakenbaby.htm Also, you might see if you can find anything in these books, look for the word prognosis: http://books.google.com/books?q=shaken+baby+syndrome&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wp&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1 http://books.google.com/books?client=firefox-a&um=1&ct=property-revision&q=shaken+baby+syndrome+prognosis&btnG=Search+Books It is also possible some of your issues stem from your prematurity. You've been through so much! I hope you can heal. Good luck in finding the answers you need.
