Michele Poole, Co-Founder - Florida

Pamela Rowse, RN, Co-Founder - Nevada

Eleven years ago, my days were packed with the fast moving hustle and bustle of maintaining a home and family and co-facilitating the operation of a multimillion dollar electrical construction company, in Palm Beach County with my husband, of 30 years, Rod Poole.
Life was good and our dreams and plans were evolving right on schedule that is until, November 21, 1994, when everything came to a crashing halt and my life took a sharp and unplanned change in its path. We were blessed with three (3) children and five (5) grandchildren and the ability to effectively impact in so many ways, until one night.
When that terrifying phone call came through advising us that our 3 month old grand daughter, Gabriela had been admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, I went totally numb. We learned that Gabbi had been shaken by her father, my son, and that it was totally uncertain that she would even survive the night.
The shock of seeing that precious and innocent baby girl fighting for her life had a profound affect on my existence and one that would thrust me into the role of child advocate and an activist in Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention.
In 1994, little Gabbi and her sister Michele became our "daughters" through adoption and it changed our family equation to "5 children and 3 grandchildren".
I retired from the business in 1995 to ensure that the 24 hour 7 day a week care that Gabbi required was accomplished and to push for public awareness and prevention intervention happened and swiftly
The list of needs in this arena was massive and the question presented where to start? So of course with my business background it became obvious, raise the money to "Make Things Happen". I pulled from the most obvious resources, the contacts that I had with builders and construction to begin. But it didn't end there.
I began researching and initiating collaborative efforts with all organizations that were attempting to deal with not only prevention, but also supporting the aftermath of "Shaken Baby Syndrome".
Active participation was essential and multi-disciplinary collaboration was the key. I became involved in many different organizations, The ARC, Easter Seals, The Academy of the Palm Beaches, Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies, and The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. I currently hold positions on the Board of all of these organizations.
I found effective ways to raise the monies for Gabbi's School. It is a state of the art facility for multi-handicapped children who are non-verbal and non-mobile. The total cost of construction was $4 million. As the President-Elect and soon to be President of the ARC of Palm Beach County, plans are in the works to begin raising monies for a secondary school that will allow these children access to services after they turn the age of 11.
I discovered, however, that there was one very important component missing in this equation, and that was the systematic support of the "Families" that are devastated by this event when it happens in their lives. I pulled from my resources, one more time and collectively with the help of other families, we were able to establish, "The National Shaken Baby Coalition". This group is completely devoted to "Collaboration with all organizations in efforts to provide networking, support and education related to all areas of SBS impact, but it is focused on the families".
"I would gladly go back to work in my electrical business, but that will not happen until I know, that everyone knows the danger of shaking a baby and the words, "Never Ever Shake A Baby" are on the lips of every new Mom and Dad and potential care-giver in the United States."
 

I have been a practicing Registered Nurse for over 30 years, with a primary background in emergency/prehospital care, critical care and quality/performance improvement.
In 1997, in the wake of the murder of my Grand-daughter Kierra Ashlie Danielle Harrison, I found myself thrust into the world of child advocacy and child abuse prevention.
There is nothing that ever prepares you for the death of a child, but it is particularly difficult when the child dies from violence. Working to help support others has served as a method of dealing with my grief and healing for me.
My primary focus with Family Support has been in the area of justice and clinical education for families and other professionals. Dealing with the legal system is frightening enough, but when you are attempting to protect the rights of the victim it can be even more terrifying.
Networking and finding resources and contacts for individuals in their local area is imperative to survive the "abyss" that Shaken Baby Syndrome leaves you in.
I promised myself and my precious Kierra that I would never allow anyone to feel as alone as our family was when Kierra died. The Shaken Baby Coalition is focused on supporting families of survivors and non-survivors as well as working collectively will all organizations with the same goals of prevention and justice. I am thankful that we have been able to find a way to be there for the families and their angels.

 Debbie Dycus, Co-Founder - Illinois
Secretary/Treasurer

Denise Isings, - Vice President
Co-Founder Washington State & Arizona

You never know where life will take you or why…….
The year was 1999. I was married for 24 years, raising two boys and working in “Corporate America.” Then the call came that my great niece, Taylor Nicole, was barely clinging to life because of something called Shaken Baby Syndrome. Seven months later I lost my job of 20 years to corporate downsizing and was also facing a divorce. All of these events collided just when Taylor needed someone to care for her during the day. I volunteered to help for a couple of weeks. Little did I know that would turn out to be a permanent situation and one that I will never regret entering into.
I have had legal physical custody of Taylor for a few years now and consider her my daughter. She is profoundly impacted by SBS with only 5% brain function, acquired CP, cortical vision impairment, seizures, secondary dystonia, totally dependent on a g-tube for nourishment, asthma, hearing processing impairment and the list goes on and on. She is unable to do anything for herself and requires 24/7 total care. She is unable to roll over, hold her head up, sit, stand, walk, talk, reach out for things or move herself.
As a team, Taylor and I go to daycare centers, high schools and civic groups to educate others of the dangers of shaking. We reach out to others who have been thrust into the Shaken Baby nightmare. I work with Prevent Child Abuse Illinois who has a wonderful SBS program in place and also do SBS presentations for StarNet (Support and Technical Assistance Regionally for professionals and families of children with special needs), Head Start and WIC. Taylor is my inspiration to do all I can to hopefully prevent this from happening to another innocent child and also why I am a cofounder and secretary/treasurer of The National Shaken Baby Coalition.
Collaboratively, we will work to make a difference.

January 24, 2009 ~ I am deeply saddened by the death of Taylor Nicole, but I promised her I would continue my fight to bring an end to this senseless form of child abuse to make her short life and death (and the lives of all the other SBS victims) have even greater purpose.  

All of my adult life has been devoted to my family and my children. As a mother of 4, stepmother of 2 and a grandmother of 8 children and their safety has always been my focus. I never hesitated to become actively involved in programs and projects that were important to their growth and learning. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H were among the organizations that I supported.
My whole world came to a crashing crossroads, when my youngest Grandchild, Kaden Robert Ray James Isings was murdered by my daughter's boyfriend at 11 weeks old.
Shaken Baby Syndrome was a term that I was aware of, but had no idea about the devastation that it can cause.
As I was floundering in my own grief and attempting to hold my family together through this, I actively sought to find information and support for us related to this horrific form of Child Abuse.
Dealing with "death" is naturally a part of life. Although it is painful when you lose someone that is close to you, there is nothing that compares to the loss of a small child or infant from child abuse.
My search for knowledge and information for not only myself, but my family and my community led me to understand that perpetrators of egregious acts against children are not prosecuted under the same standards as they are if they perpetrate the same acts against adults. In my state alone, a bank robber will serve more time than an individual who causes a child to die from child abuse.
One of the ways that I found to pursue understanding and recognition for child abuse prevention and education was the introduction of legislation in the State of Washington for specialized license plates to "Keep Kids Safe". The plates will help to raise funds for the Children's Trust Fund of WA State and be a lasting tribute to Kaden.

I discovered during my journey through the SBS "Abyss" that there were many special people with the same focus and goals as I had. I am glad that I found the connections to help Co-Found the National Shaken Baby Coalition, and have committed to working with them and their collaborative efforts with ALL Organizations to Support Families and find a way to end this preventable form of Child Abuse.
I used to always wonder what I would do when I grew up, what my Life's purpose was........I no Longer wonder......

 Janet Simmons, Co-Founder - Illinois
President

Mary Calderone, Co-founder - Massachusetts

Our journey began before our daughter Kristina was shaken.
I have two other children, Tim and Jeremy who are now 24 and 22, so there is 16 years between Jeremy and Kristina. I had waited a long time for a little girl who I could dress up and take to ballet and to brownies/girl scouts and to gymnastics, etc.. I wanted to do all the mommy-daughter things I had waited so long for. I had planned the perfect little life for us.
On August 6, 1998, all of my plans and dreams for my little one were put on hold and at the time I thought would be canceled forever.
Our little Kristina was 8 months old at the time. She went to the same baby-sitter she had gone to since 2 months of age. We had no reason not to trust the sitter. Everything seemed like it was good. But it was not. When we received the call, all of our lives were changed forever, especially Kristina's. She had been severely shaken by the sitter and suffered a massive stroke and was not expected to survive. She spent a total of 45 days in the hospital, the first 12 she was in a coma.
We were initially told if she did survive she would never walk or talk because there was just too much damage done. Boy, did she fool them. Don't get me wrong, she has a lot of issues that we deal with on a day-to-day basis, but by the Grace of God she is still here with us. I spent many days angry and frustrated after this happened, but now it has been over 6 years. Through support of friends and family I have come to the realization that if I take the anger and frustration and let that fuel me, I can make a difference in this world even if it is tiny.
I began speaking to schools and for civic organizations and anyone who would listen. I attended the 2nd National Shaken Baby Conference and came home armed with important information that gave me the correct materials needed to devise my SBS prevention training programs. From there I started to collaborate with a service organization in my community. With their help to finance my goals I started the hospital based programs here in my county. It is my goal to make this a statewide project.
I feel very strongly about this Coalition which is made up of a group of ladies who all want to make a difference and to help eradicate this useless, senseless crime we call Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Janet Simmons