Amy Owensby was separated from her husband and high school sweetheart James Davis Jr. The South Carolina father was only allowed to see their daughter on weekends.
On August 12, 2012, Cheyenne wouldn't stop crying and according to James he "just snapped." After trying to hide it, he admitted to shaking Cheyenne.
The infant's skull was fractured and her brain was bleeding. James was sentenced to 20 years in prison, suspended to 10 years and 5years of probation following his release.
Still, no punishment in the world can make up for what he did to Cheyenne. It's hard to believe that any parent would be so indifferent to their child's well-being, but it happens. This mother left her infant in a hot car, fortunately passersby came to the child's rescue.
According to the Mayo Clinic, "Shaken baby syndrome destroys a child's brain cells and prevents his or her brain from getting enough oxygen. [It] is a form of child abuse that can result in permanent brain damage or death."
The only prevention for shaken baby syndrome is being a responsible parent. The Mayo Clinic advises, "Nothing justifies shaking a child. It only takes a few seconds of shaking to cause irreversible brain damage in an infant. If you're having trouble managing your emotions or the stress of parenthood, seek help. Your child's doctor may offer a referral to a counselor or other mental health provider."
Warning: These images may be upsetting to some viewers.
See how Cheyenne is doing 3 years later below.
After her parents separated, Cheyenne spent the weekend with her father. When Cheyenne was just 8-months-old her father "snapped" when she wouldn't stop crying and shook her.
"I dropped my happy, healthy 8-month-old baby girl off with her dad for the night. An hour and a half later, I got the call that changed my life forever. My sweet baby wasn't breathing. Her heart had stopped and she was being airlifted to Greenville Memorial," Cheyenne's mother Amy Owensby wrote in a Facebook post.
"I somehow managed to get to her dad’s house right before she was taken. I will never get the image of her lifeless body being placed in that helicopter out of my head. I remember holding her hand, giving her kisses outside of the operating room fully believing I would never see her alive again."
"Between crying so hard I was shaking and throwing up, I was begging God to please save her or to take me instead. Right when I got by her bedside — seeing her covered in bandages, IVs everywhere, her leg was black from a blood clot, she was so swollen — my phone rings and it's the cops saying James confessed to shaking her."
“The man I was in love with, my first love, high school sweetheart, a guy I had known and shared a life with almost 10 years did this to OUR daughter. My whole world came crashing down."
Cheyenne had to have half of her brain removed. For some time things looked bleak. The small child underwent many surgeries, but her mom still regards her as a miracle baby.
Three years later, Cheyenne is thriving. Though she struggles with some everyday things, has seizures, and has some weakness in her right leg, she is doing just fine.
However, Amy warns other parents of shaken baby syndrome. "It only takes a few seconds to change things forever. A few seconds of frustration and anger to cause the unthinkable. I had heard about shaken baby syndrome and always thought 'that will never happen to me.' But clearly, it did. It happens way more often than I ever imagined and that needs to be known."
"Cheyenne is a tough little girl and she makes this whole process look easy but in reality, most babies don't even get the chance to try to get better. So remember that when your child is screaming and nothing you're doing is soothing them -- put them do
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